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ANCIENT AND MODERN 
LIGHT-HOUSES 



Major D. P. HEAP 

>\ 

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY 


ILLUSTRATED 



BOSTON 

TICKNOR AND COMPANY 
2VI Crcmont Street 
1889 



Copyright, 1886, 1887, 1888, 

By TICKNOR AND COMPANY. 


All rights reserved. 


BOSTON 

S. J. Parkhill & Co., Printers. 


LC Control Number 



tmp 96 026249 

















PREFACE. 


In compiling this work the following authorities were con¬ 
sulted : 

European Light-house Establishments. Elliot. Washing¬ 
ton, Government Printing Office, 1874. 

Extracts from British Light-house Reports. Washington, 
Government Printing Office, 1871. 

Documents relating to Light-houses. Washington, Govern¬ 
ment Printing Office, 1871. 

Smeatou’s Narrative of the Eddystone Light-house. Lon¬ 
don, 1793. 

Stevenson’s Account of the Bell Rock Light-house. Edin¬ 
burgh, 1824. 

Belidor. Architecture Hydraulique. Paris, 1787-9. 

Account of Skerryvore Light-house. By Allan Stevenson. 
Edinburgh, 1847. 

Account of the Holophotal System of Illuminating Light¬ 
houses. By Thomas Stevenson. Edinburgh, 1871. 

Light-houses. By David Stevenson. Edinburgh, I 860 . 

Reports of the Light-house Board of the United States, 1852 
to 1887. 

Illumination and Beaconage of the Coasts of France. Re- 
naud. 1864. 



iv 


PREFACE. 


Electrical Appliances of the Present Day. Heap. New 
York, 1884. 

Engineer Department, U. S. A., at the International ExliibL 
tion of 1876. Heap. Washington, Government Printing 
Office, 1884. 

Johnson’s Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Brittanica. Memoir 
on Minot’s Ledge Light-house. B. S. Alexander. 

Memoranda concerning Spectacle Reef Light-house. Poe. 

The new Eddystone Light-house. Douglass. London, 1883. 

More prominence has been given to American Light-houses 
than to those of other nations, as it was supposed they would 
be of more interest to American readers. 

The sketches of modern Liijit-houses scattered through 

o o 

the book are in most cases from photographs, and may be re¬ 
lied on as accurate. 


D. P. II. 


LIST OF CONTENTS. 


Chapter 

I. Ancient Light-Houses. 

II. Eddystone Light-House. 

III. Bell Bock Light-House. 

IV. Skerryvore Light-House . . . 

V. Other Light-Houses with Submarine Foun¬ 
dations . 

VL Minot’s Ledge Light-House .... 
VII. Spectacle Beef Light-House . 

VIII. Tillamook Bock. 

IX. Northwest Seal Bock. 

X. Light-Houses on the Atlantic Coast of the 

United States. 

XI. The Botiiersand Light Tower . 

XII. Fourteen-Foot Bank Light-House, Delaware 
Bay ......... 

XIII. Skeleton Iron Light-Houses .... 

XIV. Characteristics of Light-Houses 

XV. Isle of May Light-House .... 

XVI. Miscellaneous Lights. 

XVII. Light-House Administration .... 

APPENDIX. 

(A) Longfellow’s Visit to Minot’s Ledge 

(B) Keeper’s Beport of Storm at Tillamook . 

(C) Tiie Light-Keeper’s Daughter, Ballad . 

Index to Text. 

Index to Full-page Illustrations .... 


PAGE 

1 

16 

31 

41 

56 

65 

78 

88 

97 

< 

112 

125 

144 

157 

169 

177 

183 

191 


215 

216 
218 

219 

221 






LIST OP PLATES. 


PLATE 

i. — The New Eddystone Light-House . 

ii. — Ancient Tower of Cordouan . 

4 iii. —Modern Tower of Cordouan . 

iv. — Winstanley’s Light-House, Eddystone 
J v. — Rudyerd’s Light-House, Eddystone 
vi. — Smeaton’s Light-House, Eddystone 

Sketches). 

vii. — Do. (Showing 

Construction). 

Do. 

Do. 


(Hints and 


the 


XV111 


ii. j 


\J viii. — Do. do. 

ix. — Do. in a Storm 

x. —The New Light-House, Eddystone (Plan and Con 

struction). 

xi. — Do. (Sectional View) 

xii. — Bell Rock Light-House in a Storm 

xiii. — Do. in Process of Construction 

xiv. — Do. in a Storm 

xv. — Skerryyore Rock. 

xvi. — Skerryvore Light-House (Section and Barrack) 

xvii. — Do. (Elevation and Construction 

Heaux de Brehat Light-House, ) 

Ar-men Light-House, J 

xix. — Wolf Rock Light-House (Plan of Foundation) 

xx. — Do. (Section and Chart) 

xxi. — Do. (Section and Plans) 

xxii. - Minot’s Ledge Light-House .... 
xxiii. — Spectacle Reef Light-House .... 

xxiv. — Tillamook Rock Light-House (Construction) 

xxv. — Do. (View) 

xxvi. — St. George’s Reef Light-House (Construction 

Plans). 

xxvii. — Rothersand Light-House — Towing Caisson 
xx viii. — Do. View of 

xxix. — Fourteen-Foot Bank Light-House (Section) 

xxx. — Do. (Elevation) 

xxxi. —Stamford Harbor Light-House 

xxxii. — Whale Rock Light-House. 

xxxiii. — Sharp’s Island Light-House .... 


PAGE 

Frontispiece 
8 
12 

16 

20 

24 

28 
32 
36 

40 
44 
48 
62 
66 
60 
64 
68 

72 

80 
88 
96 
104 
112 
120 
128 

136 

144 
152 
160 
168 
176 
184 
192 


AND 















ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. 


PAGE 

Annular Lens, Section and Elevation.. 

Bar Harbor Light. m 

Bell Rock Light, Virginia.. 

Boon Island Light. H 7 

Boston Harbor, Old Light.120 

Boston, New Light.. 

Bressay Light, Shetland Islands. 194 

Bug Light, Boston Harbor.. 

Cape Henry Light.. 

Charleston Main Light.. 

Colossus of Rhodes. 910 

Construction of Minot’s Ledge Light.75, 76 

Detroit River Light Station.167, 168 

Eddystone, Skerryvore, and Bell Rock. 45 

Edenton Range, rear Beacon.185 

Floating Light-House, Capt. Harris ’.188 

“ “ Capt. Moody.187 

Foundation Screw of Screw-pile.* . . 164 

Fourteen-Foot Bank Light.144 

Gas-lighted Buoy, Foster’s.188 

Halfway Rock Light.116,183 

Hatteras Light, Plan and Section of Working Chamber . . . 155 

“ proposed Caisson for.153 

Hatteras Shoal, Chart of.154 

Hell Gate Electric Light.162 

Heron’s Neck Light.124 

Highlands Light, Cape Cod.87 

Highlands of Navesink, North Tower.189 

Howth Bailey Light .196 

Isle of May, Lenticular Apparatus.179 

“ Light-House.177 

“ Plan of.178 

John of Unst’s House. 86 

Latin Light-Houses.1,2 

Livingston’s Creek, Stake Light.186 

Longstone Light.192 



















X 


ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEE TEXT. 


Minot’s Ledge Light.66 

“ “ Construction of.75,76 

Maplin Sand Light ..63 

Matinicus Rock Light.114 

Mt. Desert Rock Light.112 

Northwest Seal Rock, California.99 

Point Reyes Light . ..191, 198 

Portland Breakwater Light.190 

Portland Head Light.41 

Rothersand Light Tower, Caisson.125 

“ “ Caisson of, inclined.130 

“ “ Chart.135 

“ “ Plan and Section.139 

Saddleback Light.64 

Screw-pile Light-House..161 

Smalls Light.109 

Smith Point Light.165 

Spar Buoy with Electric Light.189 

St. Augustine Light.174 

St. John’s River Light.. 207 

Stony Point Light.204 

St. Pierre de Royan Light . . 175 

Tillamook Rock Light.88 

Tortugas Light. 170 

Tour d’Ordre, Bologne. .6 

Triagoz Light.106,107 


♦ 


» 























ANCIENT AND MODERN 
LIGHT-HOUSES. 


CHAPTER I. 


ANCIENT LIGHT-HOUSES. 



3J 1 


r HOUGH there is incontestable 
evidence that light-houses did 
exist in ancient times, the old 
authors make but meagre reference 
to them, and of the towers themselves 
but scanty ruins remain; 
this is but natural, as they 
must of necessity have been 
situated in places not only 
exposed to wind and storm, 
but also frequently have 
formed portion of fortified 
places, and so subject to all 

Latin Light-house, after a Medal in the collection the risks of war. Besides, 
of the Marshal d Estres. a tower from its very shape 

is the least stable of architectural structures, and succumbs to acci¬ 
dents which other buildings successfully resist. 

When Hercules put on the shirt of Nessus, he in his agony tore 
the flesh from his body, and finally unable longer to endure the tor¬ 
ture, built and lighted a funeral pyre and threw himself upon it; when 
the flames commenced to lick his body a cloud descended from the 
sky, and carried him to Olympus. This legend may perhaps be the 






2 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-IIOUSES. 


reason why the Greeks attribute the first light-houses to him. At 
Thasos, Smyrna and in Italy he was acjrrjp (Saviour), i. e., protector 
of voyagers, and tithes were vowed to him to be spent in enter¬ 
tainment. 

The oldest light-houses known were the towers built by the Syb- 
ians and by the Cushites, who dwelt in lower Egypt; in addition to 
being light-houses they were temples named after some deity; they 
were held in great veneration by sailors, who enriched them with 

their offerings ; it is sup¬ 
posed that they contained 
charts showing the coasts 
and the navigation of the 
Nile. At first these charts 
were engraved on the 
walls; later they were 
made on papyrus. The 
priests, who were the 
light-keepers, taught the 
pilotage of vessels, hydro¬ 
graphy, and how to steer 

bv the use of constella- 
¥ 

tions. 

Latin Light-house, after a Medal found at Apamea. 

The manner of light¬ 
ing these towers was very primitive: the fuel was placed in a kind 
of iron or bronze basket composed of three or four dolphins or other 
marine animal interlaced together; then the basket was attached 
to a long pole projecting from the tower towards the sea. The 
Baron de Zach says, that “ the Sybians called these towers tar 
or tor , which signifies height; Is means fire, hence Tor Is tower 
of fire; from this comes the Greek rvf)/)ig and the Latin turris, 
when these signals were situated outside of the villages on rounded 
eminences they were called Tith. Tithon, so celebrated for his long¬ 
evity, seems to have only been one of these structures dedicated to the 
sun, and Thetis, former goddess of the ocean, only a light-house near 










LA TIN LIGHT-HO USES. 


3 


the sea, called Thii-ls , fire on an eminence. And the legend of the 
massacre of the Cyclops killed by the arrows of Apollo is simply the 
mythological way of expressing the manner in which the signals of 
the Cyclopian towers on the coasts of Sicily were extinguished by the 
rays of the rising run.” The above, if not true, has certainly the 
merit of ingenuity. 

Lesches, a minor poet, born about 600 b. c., mentions a light-liouse 
placed on the promontory of Sigasum in the Troad, near which there 
was a roadstead. This is the first light-house which appears to have 
been operated regularly, but though it heads the list, it has not had 
the glory of giving its name to those succeeding it; this honor was 
reserved to the tower built on the Isle of Pharos, at Alexandria, 
which has also served as a model for the most celebrated towers since 
erected. According to Suetonius, the tower at Ostia, built by Clau¬ 
dius, was copied from the one at Alexandria, and appears to have 
been the most remarkable of the Latin towers. Italy, however, pos¬ 
sessed many fine ones, such as those of Ravenna and Pozzuoli men¬ 
tioned by Pliny, and the one at Messina, which gave its name to the 
strait which separates Sicily from Italy, and where the famous rocks 
of Scylla and Charybdis are found; and finally the light-house on the 
Island of Capri, which was overthrown by an earthquake a few days 
before the death of Tiberius. 

The shape of these Latin towers is somewhat doubtful. Ilerodianus 
says that the catafalques of the emperors resembled light-houses; 
now the catafalques were square, while the light-houses were not 
always so. A medal in the collection of the Marshal d’Estres shows 
a light-house of four stories, circular in plan ; another medal found 
at Apamea, in Bithynia, an ancient country of Asia Minor, also shows 
the circular form, and finally, the light-house at Boulogne was octa¬ 
gonal. 


THE LIGHT-HOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA. 

There are several noted ancient light-houses, of whose history and 
appearance we have more or less authentic accounts. Prominent 


4 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


among all is the famous one at Alexandria, on the Island of Pharos 
which was regarded as one of the wonders of the world. Opinions 
differ as to whom to ascribe the honor of building this magnificent 
structure; by some it has been assigned to Alexander the Great, by 
others to Cleopatra; but the best evidence is that it was erected by 
Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, who reigned 283-247 b. c. It is quite cer¬ 
tain that Sostratos was the name of the architect. The following rather 
tricky story is told of him: like many another architect he desired to 
perpetuate his fame by inscribing his name on the work, a perfectly 
laudable ambition; to accomplish this he engraved deeply on one of 
the stones, “ Sostratos of Gnidos, son of Dixiphanus, to the Gods pro¬ 
tecting those upon the sea.’* Knowing very well that Ptolemy would 
not be satisfied with this inscription, he covered it with a thin slab of 
stone, or coating of cement, which could not long resist the action of 
the weather, and on this he inscribed Ptolemy’s name: as he antici¬ 
pated, the covering disappeared in some years, and with it the name 
of the king, thus keeping all the credit to himself. Pliny says that 
Ptolemy purposely left off his own name so that Sostratos could have 
all the glory, but this is so directly contrary to the way in which 
princes ordinarily act, both in ancient and modern history, that such 
an excess of modesty is hardly probable. 

Another disputed point is whether the tower gave the name to 
the island or the island to the tower; the latter is the more likely ; at 
all events this light-house has given its name to its successors, and 
has become the generic name. 

Light-house in Latin is pharus; in Spanish and Italian, faros; in 
French, pliare; and even in English pharo was once used, though now 
obsolete. 

The tower was square in plan, of great height, and built in offsets. 
Edrisi, an Arabian geographer of the thirteenth century, said that in 
his time it was six hundred feet high, and that the light could be seen 
one hundred miles; no true American will believe this, for have we 
not the Washington Monument, five hundred and fifty feet high, the 
“tallest artificial structure ever erected on the surface of the earth?** 


THE ALEXANDRIA LIGHT-HOUSE. 


5 


it is more consoling to our vanity to consider that the old Arabian 
was romancing:. 

At the top of the tower was the brazier to contain the fuel; it was 
truly a “ pillar of fire by night, of smoke by day,” and must have 
been a welcome sight to the storm-tossed mariner, though the labor 
of carrying the fuel to the top of that tall tower must have been a 
wearisome task to the poor light-keepers. 

The tower, from all descriptions left us, seems to have been built 
iu a manner similar to the Tower of Babel, which had eight stories, 
or as Herodotus calls them, towers placed one upon the other. 
Pliny affirms that its cpst amounted to eight hundred talents, or 
about $94G,000. 

But to go back to our Egyptian who evidently was an ardent ad¬ 
mirer of this structure: “ This light-house,” says he, “ has not its 
equal in the world for excellence of construction and for strength, for 
not only is it constructed of a fine quality of stone, called ‘ kedan,’ 
but the various blocks are so strongly cemented together with melted 
lead, that the whole is imperishable, although the waves of the sea 
continually break against its northern face; a staircase of the ordi¬ 
nary width, constructed in the interior, extends as high as the mid¬ 
dle of the structure, where there is a gallery; under the staircase are 
the keeper’s apartments; above the gallery the tower becomes smaller 
and smaller until it can be embraced by the arms of a man. From 
this same gallery there is a staircase much narrower than the tower, 
reaching to the summit; it is pierced with many windows to give 
light within and to show those who ascend where to place their feet. 
At a distance the light appeared so much like a star near the hori¬ 
zon, that sailors were frequently deceived by it.” Arabs and trav¬ 
ellers have told wonderful stories about this tower; some say that Sos- 
tratos supported this immense mass on four great stone crabs, and 
even more remarkable, that Alexander the Great placed on the top 
of the tower a mirror constructed with so much art that by means of 
it he could see the fleets of his enemies at one hundred leagues dis¬ 
tance, and to enter still more into particulars, that a Greek named 


6 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


Sodorus, after the death of Alexander, broke the mirror, while the 
garrison of the tower was asleep. 

DOVER TOWER. 

There are two towers, one at Dover, the other at Boulogne, which 
for many years lighted the British Channel. But little is known of 
the history of the former; some believe it to be the same tower that 
now stands in the middle of Dover Castle; others think tliat*a grand 
mound of masonry, stones and chalk, near Dover, called the “ Devil’s 



Tour d'Ordre, Bologne, after a drawing by Claude Chatillon. 


Drop,” are the ruins of the ancient tower. It was built by the 
Romans, and was probably octagonal in plan, and resembled in other 
particulars its l^ate at Boulogne. 

Its antiquity no doubt exceeds that of any liglit-house in Great 
Britain. It has not been used as such since the Conquest, but before 
then burned for many centuries those great fires of coal and wood 
formerly maintained on several towers still standing on those coasts. 

LA TOUR D’ORDRE. 

Jf the tower at Boulogne we have more accurate information. It 












LA TOUR D'ORDRE. 


7 


is well known under the name of the Tour d’Ordre or d’Orde. Two 
centuries ago its ruins might still be seen. 

The story goes that when the too famous emperor Caligula arrived 
at the banks of the Rhine, and thought to invade Brittany, chance 
obtained for him the voluntary surrender of a young Breton prince. 
To celebrate this piece of unforeseen good luck, he caused to be 
erected on the cliffs of Gioriacum, now Boulogne, a triumphal mon¬ 
ument to perpetuate his renown. The exact date at which this mon¬ 
ument was changed to the more useful purpose of a light-house is 
unknown; but it is certain that a light shone from its summit in 1D1 
A. D., as there is a bronze medal upon which Commodus bears the 
title of Brittanicus, in remembrance of the victory of one of his lieu¬ 
tenants over the Brittons, and which represents this light-house and 
the departure of a Roman fleet. 

Located at the most convenient place for crossing the British 
Channel, the tower of Boulogne was kept in careful repair during 
the occupancy of Gaul by the Romans. It not only served as a light¬ 
house, but also as a fortress, and, owing to its position and massive 
construction, it was well suited for this purpose. In the sixteenth cen¬ 
tury, during the short and disastrous occupation of Boulogne by the 
English, the Tour d’Ordre, as it was then called, was surrounded by 
two ramparts, one of brick and the other of earth, and was armed 
with pieces of artillery. It was admirably located, either for the de¬ 
fense or the attack of Boulogne, for it commanded the citv and both 
banks of the river. 

However, it was not the hazard of war which made this tower low¬ 
er its haughty front and caused its ruin. All that i* suffered was the 
damage to its lantern, several times repaired. Its final destruction 
was entirely due to the carelessness of the mayor and aldermen, who 
took no pains to check the action of the sea at its base, and of subter¬ 
ranean springs which gradually sapped its foundation, so that finally, 
between 1640 and 1645, tower, fort, and even the cliff itself fell. The 
Boulognese were rather glad of it, for they had to pay taxes on 
land, in virtue of an ancient right to a certain Lord de Bainc 


ANCIENT AND MODERN IIGTIT-IIOUSES. 


\ 


8 

They argued that as the land had disappeared they were freed 
from further obligation to the proprietor. However, Parliament 
did not take that view of it, but informed Messieurs the Boulog- 
nese that as they were responsible for the loss of the tower, they 
could continue paying a tax of two thousand herrings, delivered at 
Amiens, Arras, or at other cities at equal distances that the pro¬ 
prietor might designate; or they could replace the tower in its 
former condition, and relinquish to the Lord of Baincthun, Baron of 
Ordre, the right of taxing all fishermen entering Havre. They con¬ 
cluded to pay the tax, and continued to do so until the French 
Revolution. 

The accompanying design, after Claude Cliatillon, engineer of 
King Henry IY, is apparently trustworthy. Descriptions of the 
tower are rather meagre; they give, however, some useful informa¬ 
tion concerning the situation, dimensions and form of the edifice, and 
also of the materials employed in its construction. The latter were yel¬ 
low and gray stone and red bricks. The tower was sit uated the length 
of a cross-bow shot from the edge of the cliff; it was octagonal in 
plan, and one hundred and ninety-two feet in circumference. Like 
most Roman light-houses, each of its twelve stories was three feet less 
in diameter than the one immediately beneath it, thus giving the 
tower a pyramidal shape. It is stated that its height equalled its cir¬ 
cumference, or, in round numbers, two hundred feet, which seems to 
be an unnecessary height for a tower situated on a cliff one hundred 
feet above the sea level. Each story had an opening in the middle 
like a door, and there could still be seen, in the beginning of the sev¬ 
enteenth century, three vaulted rooms, one above the other, connected 
by a stairway, and doubtless intended as dwellings for the keepers. 
The place where the fire was lighted is conjectural, as the chroniclers 
of the ninth century state that the summit was repaired so that fires 
might be lighted on it. It is reasonable to believe that before this 
repair the fire shone in a room in the upper story. 

This ancient light-house is now replaced by modern lights, one 
a fixed red, visible for four miles, aud two fixed white lights, 


f 







ANCIENT TOWER OF COBDOUAN, 

See page 12 . 









































































































































































































































































THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES. 


9 


visible at a distance of nine miles, erected by tbe French Light- 
IIouse Board in 1835. 



THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES. 


The Colossus of Rhodes may or may not have been a light-house 
The weight of testimony bears toward the latter supposition, and it is 























10 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


also more than doubtful if it stood at the entrance of the port, and 
that the largest vessels could pass between its legs. 

There is no doubt, however, that this colossal statue of Apollo was 
completed 285 b. c., that it took fifteen years to build, and that, 
after standing fifty-six years, it was overthrown by an earthquake 



The Rhodians received large sums of money from the kings and 
people of Greece to re-establish the statue and to rebuild their ruined 
town, but as they probably found it more to their advantage to apply 
the funds to other than statuary purposes, a convenient oracle in¬ 
formed them that its re-erection would be followed by dire misfor¬ 
tunes, so of course they could not go against the will of the gods. 








THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES. 


11 


Chares of Lindus, a pupil of Lysippus was the designer. It is said 
that he killed himself in despair, because, after he had spent all the 
money appropriated, the statue was but half finished, and that it was 
completed by another Lydian named Lachus. Such stories are rather 
doubtful. 

The statue was about one hundred and eight feet high, and was 
made of bronze. After it was overthrown “ it was still a marvel,” 
says Pliny. “ Few men could put their arms around the thumb; its 
fingers are larger than many statues. Its disjointed limbs seem vast 
caverns in which one sees enormous stones by means of which it was 
weighted. It is said that it cost 500 talents ($590,000), the sum which 
the Rhodians had taken from the equipages of war abandoned before 
their city by Demetrius when he raised the siege, fatigued by its 
length.” 

The ruins of the Colossus remained for nine hundred years, but in 
672 a. d., Mauviah, one of Otliman’s lieutenants, had it broken to 
pieces, and sold it to a Jew, who carried it off on a thousand camels, 
if we can believe the Byzantine chroniclers. 

The cuts show what it may have been. The treatment with the 
rays about the head and the flaming brazier in the hand bears some 
resemblance to our statue of Liberty enlightening the World. 

TOWER OF CORDOUAN. 

It is to Monsieur Belidor, Colonel of Infantry, Chevalier of the 
Military Order of St. Louis, etc., that we are indebted for the best 
description of the Tower of Cordouan. The following account is 
taken from his “Architecture ILydraulique ,” published in 1777, “ with 
the approbation and privilege of the King.” lie says: 

“ Since the superb lightdiouses built by the ancients, there has 
not appeared one more august nor of more importance than the 
famous Tower of Cordouan, located on a rock in the sea at the 
mouth of the Gironde, to aid the entrance and exit of vessels in 
the two rivers, Garonne and Dordogne, whose confluence forms the 
Gironde. Without this tower many vessels would be wrecked. It 


12 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


serves as a beacon during the day and a light at night, to guide the 
ships, and to prevent them from running on the reefs, which are 
numerous in the vicinity. There are but two passes, the one called 
le pas des anes, between Saintonge and the tower of Cordouan, and 
the other between the same tower and Medoc, named le pas de 
grane, both equally dangerous. 

“ The tower is about two leagues from Bordeaux, and the rock on 
which it is built is 500 toises in length from north to south, and 250 
toises in width from east to west. The sea, in its vicinity, is filled 
with sunken reefs, covered with three or four feet of water, against 
which the waves break with great fury, making the access to the 
tower extremely difficult. 

“ This magnificent tower, rising 169 feet above its base, was com¬ 
menced in 1584, during the reign of Henry II, by Louis de Foix, a 
celebrated French architect, and finished under Henry IY, in 1610. 
Sailors deem this light-house the finest in Europe, not knowing any 
other more magnificent, or as bold in construction. As can be seen 
by the plan of the tower, there is a platform, surrounded by a circu¬ 
lar wall, against which are the various buildings for the residence of 
the four keepers and for the storage of supplies; the latter contains 
six months’ provisions, and there is a fine cistern for catching an 
ample supply of water from the tower. In the centre of the plat¬ 
form is the basement floor, containing a large room, two closets, and 
small room. Underneath are the cellars and the cistern. The first 
floor, which is called the King’s Appartment, comprises a vestibule, 
closets, and other conveniences. The second story is occupied by a 
chapel, where mass was said when the weather permitted a priest to 
land. In this chapel were the busts of Louis XIV, and of Louis XV, 
placed there in 1735, with a grand Latin inscription containing a 
condensed history of the tower. There is also a bust of Louis de 
Foix, over which is the following inscription in a large frame: 

“ ‘ QVAND IADMIRE RAVI CEST CEVVRE EX MON COURAGE 
MON DE FOIX MON ESPRIT EST EN ESTONNEMENT, 

PORTE DANS LES PENSERS DE MON ENTENDEMENT 


3 


/ 





-rjfPltiW 




Gclfelle dt 


(fc... V; T 



jg^d 



MODERN TOWER OF CORDOUAN. 

See page 14 . 














































































































TOWER OF CORDOUAN. 


13 


LE GENTIL INGENIEVX DE CE SVPERBE OVVRAGE 
LA IL DISCOVRT EN LVY ET DVN MVET LANGAGE 
TE VA LOVANT SVBTIL EN CE POINT MESMEMENT 
QVE TV BRIDES LES PLOTS DV GRONDEVX ELEMENT 
ET DV MVTIN NEPTVN LA TEMPESTE ET L’ORAGE 
O TROIS QVATRE FOIS BIENHEVREVX TON ESPRIT 
DE CE QV’AV FRONTE DRESSE CE PHARE IL ENTREPRIT 
POVR SE PERPETVER DANS LHEVREVSE MEMOIRE 
TV TES ACQV1S PAR LA UN IIONNEVll INFINI 
QVI NE FINIRA POINT QVE CE PHARE DE GLOIRE 
LE MONDE FINISSANT NE SE RENDE FINY. 

A description is unnecessary of the beautiful architecture which 
forms the interior and exterior decoration, it being easy to judge of 
it from the section and elevation. I will only add that the arms of 
France are on the front of the first story, accompanied by two 
statues, one representing Mars with his ordinary attributes, the other 
a female figure holding a palm in one hand and a diadem in the 
other. Lower are two niches: in the right-hand one is the bust of 
Henry II, and in the other the bust of Henry IV. The portico 
is opposite the entrance to the platform; on the opposite side is 
the staircase, partly built in the thickness of the wall, and partly 
outside. 

For more than a century this tower was the admiration of all 
connoisseurs, but at length, the heat of the fire having injured the 
walls of the lantern, the Court, in 1717, ordered that it be demolished, 
to prevent its falling, and that the light be established below it, 
instead of repairing the damaged parts, and keeping the light at the 
same height. It was not long before it was seen what a mistake 
this was, for the lantern had no sooner been taken away than all the 
sailors complained that the light could not be seen at a distance of 
two leagues, as was formerly the case. 

Things were in this state when, in 1720, the tower passed from 
the jurisdiction of Rochelle to that of Bordeaux. Then the Count of 
Toulouse, Admiral of France, and Marshal Asfeld, Director of Forti¬ 
fications, entrusted the reparation of the tower to Monsieur de Bitie, 


14 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 



Engineer-in-Cliief of Bordeaux, who sought the means of reestab¬ 
lishing the light at its former height by a lantern which should not 
intercept the light to the same extent as the old one. lie accom¬ 
plished this by building an iron lantern, as shown in the plate. This 
was successfully placed in 1727. The brazier for burning the fuel 
held two hundred and twenty-five pounds of coal, which was lighted 
at sunset, and burned all night. The old brazier was too small. 
Oak wood was burned in it; the flame was large, but it had to be 
replenished every three hours. The height of the new lantern was 
greater than the old one, so that the tower was increased in height 
to 175 feet from its base to the weather-cock. 

This elevation was not sufficient to enable mariners to see the light 
at a very great distance, so Teulere, Engineer-in-Chief of the district 
of Bordeaux, performed the difficult task of raising it, at the end of 
the last century. The height was increased to 197 feet above high 
tide, giving a great increase to the range, but marring its architectu¬ 
ral beauty, as the absence of ornament in the modern part contrasts 
painfully with the elegance and richness of the work of the Renais¬ 
sance. The first impression of the tower, however, is still very 
striking, rising as it does with such majesty and boldness from the 
bosom of the sea. 

About thirty years ago, this light-house was completely renovated, 
many of the stones, worn by time, were replaced, and the carvings, 
which had become almost indistinguishable, were recut; it now con¬ 
tains in its lantern, in place of the old oak or coal fire, that nearly 
faultless piece of apparatus known as the Fresnel lens, by means of 
which all the light possible is utilized in strengthening the friendly 
beam. 

There is a lofty and ancient tower overlooking the Atlantic 
Ocean at Corunna, Spain. It is called the Pillar of Hercules, 
and it is thought that the name Corunna may be a corruption of the 
word “ Columna.” Bv some writers the origin of this tower is 
attributed to the Carthaginians, by others to Caius Servius Lupus, 
who dedicated it to Mars. It was restored by Julius Cajsar, and 


1 




ITALIAN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


15 


again by Trajan. Its architecture relates to remote antiquity. A 
tradition states that it was erected by an ancient king of Spain in 
heroic times; it is now ninety-two feet high. At Ravenna there is 
a large square tower standing out from the side-walls of the Church 
of Santa Maria in Porta Fuori, and now used as a campanile or 
hell-tower: it is supposed to be the pharos of the port constructed 
by Augustus. In the fifth century this port was so silted up as to 
be obliterated, and its site was converted into gardens. 

The beautiful light-house at Genoa, called Torre del Capo, was 
originally built on the promontory of San Berrique in 1139, and first 
lighted in 1326. It was removed in 1512, and re-built by the Repub¬ 
lic in 1643. It is a square tower, in two stories, with battlemented 
terraces, the lower portion nine metres square, the upper seven. 

Rising from a rock forty-two and one-half metres above the sea, it 

% 

carries its light at the height of one hundred and eighteen and one- 
half metres above the water. In 1841 it was fitted with a Fresnel, 
first-order lens : for beauty and elegance of structure this historic 
light is one of the finest in existence. 

The Pharos of Meloria was built by the Pis ins in 1154. It indi¬ 
cated the direction to be taken by ships bound for Porto Pisana, and 
crave warning of a dangerous sand-bank. This tower was three times 
destroyed — in 1267 by Charles of Anjou, in 1287 by the Genoese, and 
in 1290 by the Guelphs. Having determined to abandon Meloria, 
the Pisans erected, in 1304, the light-liouse which still exists at Leg¬ 
horn. It is celebrated by Petrarch. Standing near the entrance of 
the harbor, to the south of the new mole, it rises forty-seven metres 
above the level of the sea. It is built of stone, in the form of two 
battlemented cylinders, surrounded at the base by a polygonal enclos¬ 
ure of thirteen sides. 


CHAPTER II. 


EDDYSTONE LIGHT-HOUSE. 


To the King: — 

“ I have it not in inv power to present Your Majesty with a fine piece 
of writing, or of drawing; neither literature, nor the fine arts having been 
much the objects of my study; but I humbly submit to Your Majesty, a 
plain account of the construction of a plain and simple building, that has 
nevertheless been acknowledged to be, in itself, curious, difficult, and use¬ 
ful; and, as such, I trust, worthy of observation.” 1 

Eddystone, the most famous of modern light-houses, built and de¬ 
stroyed so many times, has a history of its own, and though the pres¬ 
ent structure is not the one built by the famous Smeaton, yet we owe 
to his genius and strong common sense the design of a tower which 
has become a type. 

Eddystone Rocks, probably so called from the various and conflict¬ 
ing currents running through them, are situated about S. S. W. from 
the middle of Plymouth Sound, nearly fourteen miles from the town 
of Plymouth, and ten miles from Ram-Head, the nearest point of land. 
They are nearly covered at high water, and, being just within the 
line joining Start and Lizard Points, they must have been very dan¬ 
gerous to vessels coasting up and down the Channel, before they were 
marked by a light; in fact, many a rich craft, homeward bound from 
foreign ports, has been lost upon them. From the position of these 
rocks, near the entrance to the English Channel, they are exposed to 
the full force of all southwest storms, and what still further augments 
the force of the waves is the fact that these rocks stretch across the 
Channel for about six hundred feet, and slope gradually to seaward, 


'Extract from the dedication of John Smeaton’s narrative of th^ building, 
and description of the construction of the Eddystone Light-houso with stone.' 
Second Edition. London, 1793 








SoatA ELEVATION of 
yjon. tfu El )Y STONE 

JJ/aun Orth/x/raphical t • from 


WIN STANLEY S LIGHTHOUSE, 
ROCK. Js it u w fimsAcd m f/u Itnr /(fyn . 

a Trrjjjrctiir ¥mitt/isrxtf, fuHistird fj) • finnseff 


F./yrmn/ fry//w Tiof/t r/s, /ybjt . 


few J htrA ■= — ft Ff. t 

-- JL *: 


See page 18 . 


. 



























































WINSTANLEY’S EDDYSTONE LIGHT. 


17 


so that when the sea is calm elsewhere yet the ground-swell, running 
up their slope, breaks with great violence; and even when there is 
only a moderate swell from the southwest, yet, owing to the pecu¬ 
liar shape of the House Rocks, the water flies thirty or forty fee* 
high. 

Without going into further detail, it will be seen that the erection 
of alight-house on this exposed place was an arduous and dangerous 
undertaking. Yet, in 1696, there having been so many fatal acci¬ 
dents to vessels running on the rocks, there was found a man hardy 
enough to attempt the task. This was Mr. Henry Winstanley, of 
Littlebury, in the County of Essex. Mr. Winstanley had a certain 
turn for mechanics, but his ingenuity ran to the grotesque. At his 
house in Littlebuiy there were various amusing and startling con¬ 
trivances : in one room there was an old slipper carelessly lying on 
the floor; if you gave it a kick to one side — a most natural thing to 
do — a ghost would start up before you ; if you sat down on a certain 
conveniently-situated chair — to look at the ghost at your ease, per¬ 
haps— you would be immediately clasped by a couple of arms, so 
strongly and effectually that you would need the assistance of your 
attendant to release you; should you rest in an arbor in the grounds 
by the side of a canal to meditate on these marvels, you at once found 
yourself afloat in the middle of the canal, there to remain until the 
manager chose to return you to shore. 

This bent of Mr. Winstanley’s probably accounts for the whimsi¬ 
cal structure he erected for light-house purposes. This structure took 
him four years to erect, the entire work of the first year consisting in 
drilling twelve holes in the rock and fastening in them twelve large 
irons. The second year a pillar twelve feet high and fourteen feet in 
diameter was built. The third year the diameter of the pillar was 
increased to sixteen feet, and the tower was completed to a height of 
sixty feet, or to the top of the vane eighty feet, and lighted for the 
first time the 12th of November, 1698. The fourth year, finding that 
the sea at times buried the lantern, the thickness of the tower was 
further increased to twenty-four feet, the tower made solid for a height 


18 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


of twenty feet, the upper part of the building taken down and en¬ 
larged, and the height of the tower raised forty feet; yet the sea in 
storms appeared to fly one hundred feet above the vane, and at times 
would cover half the side of the house and lantern as if they were 
under water. 

Mr. Winstanley does not state of what material he constructed the 
base of his tower, but from the appearance of a drawing — said to 
be made at the rock — it would appear that the material used was 
stone, and that the joints were protected by iron hoops, to prevent 
the mortar washing out. 

The picture shows the completed tower. With all its whim¬ 
sicalities and absurdities — its bav-window, derricks, ornamental 
gim-craeks and mottoes, it was a brave and heroic deed to erect it. 
Some idea can be formed of the violence of the storms which it with¬ 
stood, as, after it was finished, it was commonly said that it was pos¬ 
sible for a six-oared boat to be lifted up by a wave and driven through 
the open gallery. Mr. Winstanley believed in its strength, and had 
the courage of his convictions. In November, 1703, he went to 
superintend some repairs, and some one expressing fears that the 
structure was not strong enough, and some day might be overturned, 
he replied : “I am so very well assured of the strength of my 
building that I should only wish to be there in the greatest storm 
that ever blew, that I might see what effect it would have upon the 
structure.” 

His wish was gratified. While lie was there with his workmen and 
light-keepers, on the 26th of November, a tremendous storm visited 
Great Britain, and on the next morning it was found that the lmht- 
house had disappeared, with all the people in it. Nothing was ever 
seen of it except a few of the large irons used for holding it to the 
rock, and part of an iron chain jammed in a crevice. At the same 
time that the light-house was destroyed, the model of it, in Mr. AVin- 
Stanley’s house at Littlebury, in Essex, two hundred miles distant, 
fell down and was broken to pieces. Not long after this accident the 
Winchelsea , a homeward-bound, Virginia man-of-war, was wrecked 


RUDYERD’S EDDYSTONE LIGHT. 19 

upon the roeks on which the light-house stood, and most of the crew 
were drowned. 

Though Winstanley proved that it was not impracticable to build 
a light-house on the Eddvstone rocks, and though the light had shown 
itself to be of great use, yet it was not until the spring of 1706 that 
an act of Parliament was passed “ for the better enabling the Master, 
Wardens and Assistants of Trinity House at Deptford Stroud to re¬ 
build the same.” The work was commenced the following July. By 
this act the duties payable by shipping passing the light were vested 
in the corporation of Trinity House, and they were empowered to 
contract for its erection. In consequence of these powers, they em¬ 
ployed a Capt. Lovel, or Lovet, to build it, giving him in payment 
the duties for a term of ninety-nine years, commencing from the date 
the light should first be exhibited and continuing so long as it should 
be shown. 

Captain Lovet engaged Mr. John Rudyerd to be his engineer — 
an apparently strange choice, as Mr. Rudyerd was a silk mercer, 
who kept a shop on Ludgate Hill, London. 

This choice proved, however, to be a happy one. Mr. Rudyerd 
avoided the errors of his predecessor ; he chose a circle instead 
of an irregular polygon for the plan of his building, and omitted 
the unwieldy ornaments, the open gallery, the cranes, and other 
contrivances. 

Rudyerd’s light-house was a frustum of a cone, twenty-two feet 
ei<dit inches in diameter at the base and fourteen feet three inches at 

O 

the top, sixty-seven feet high to the floor of the lantern ; the height 
of the centre of the light was nine feet above the balcony floor, and 
the total height of the tower from the lowest part of the base to the 
ball on top of the lantern was seventy feet. 

It was built mainly of wood ballasted with stone; this is probably 
due to the fact that Mr. Rudyerd’s associates in the work were Mr. 
Smith and Mr. Morcut, shipwrights from the King’s yard at Wool¬ 
wich, and further accounts for the structure being more in the nature 
of ship-joinery than of ordinary carpenter’s work. 


20 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


To prepare the foundation the surface of the rock was first approx¬ 
imately levelled off in steps, in which holes were drilled to receive 
heavy iron bolts or branches, as they were called, which were in their 
turn securely fastened to the timbers. 

These holes were made dovetail in shape — two and one-fourth 
inches wide, seven and one-half broad at top, eight and one-half at 
bottom and from fifteen to sixteen inches deep, and as they could not 
all be made alike, each bolt was forged to fit its respective hole; the 
latter were made four and one-lialf inches broad at the surface of the 
rock and six and one-half at the bottom ; when placed in the hole a 
space would thus be left three inches wide at the top and two at the 
bottom in which a key could be driven. 

After all the holes were drilled and the bolts and kevs fitted, the 
holes were cleared of water as far as possible and filled with melted 
tallow; the bolts and keys were then heated to a blue heat and 
driven home ; thus all the interstices would be filled with the tallow ; 
when this was done coarse pewter was melted in a ladle and run in; 
it of course displaced the tallow, or a greater part of it. This an¬ 
swered so well that fifty years afterward when these bolts were taken 
out the tallow still remained fresh and the iron not rusted. 

These bolts were not placed very regularly, but the plan in general 
was to arrange them in two concentric circles, one about a foot inside 
the other; in addition there were two large bolts fixed near the cen¬ 
tre, to which was attached the mast. 

The lower part of the tower consisted of a solid oak grillage, 
carried two courses higher than the top of the rock; on top of this 
were placed five courses, one foot thick, of stone, laid without 
cement, but held together with iron cramps, then two courses more 
of solid timber, surrounded with timbers conforming to the contour 
of the circle, so that when the outside upright timbers were placed 
the bolts fastening them would not enter the horizontal timbers with 
the grain; some courses of the lower grillage were arranged in the 
same way. 

The outside of the tower was then formed of upright timbers, 



S,#,a IXKVATTON * SEC'TIOX if [UDYIttUVs LIC.'HTHOUSE, 


f'oMj/foj/rt //// '//Wj 


// fj/'/,rs////v/ //.r // <r//Y>a?f/rf Vlfi'lff iff f/' 1 ' I ffattwfaftO//- fa 'faff, ft'! //f iffff /J.'j.'J . 

See page 20 . 






























































































■" \ 


RUDYEllD'S EDDY ST ONE LIGHT. 


21 


bolted to the grillage courses and to eac*h other, and terminated by 
a planking three inches thick which formed the floor of the lantern. 
The seams between these uprights were caulked with oakum and 
payed with pitch. 

The tower was perfectly plain except the cornice at the top and 
a protection at the bottom; the former served to throw off the sea at 
the top and prevent it from striking the lantern. The latter was 
probably an afterthought to protect the bases of the uprights from 
the shock of the waves. 

This structure was a great advance on the first one; it stood for 
forty-six years and was then destroyed, not by a storm but,by fire. 

Three years after it was commenced a light was exhibited from it, 
and the next year, 1709, it was entirely completed. 

Louis the XIV was at war with England during the construction 
of this light, and once a French privateer captured all the men at 
work and carried them to France with their tools. The captain 
quite prided himself on his achievement and expected to be well 
rewarded, but the king, when he heard of it, clapped the captain 
and his crew into prison, released the workmen, loaded them with pre¬ 
sents and sent them back to their work saying that, though he was 
at war with England he was not at war with mankind and that the 
Eddystone light-house was so situated as to be of equal service to 
all nations navigating the English Channel. 

No repairs of any moment were necessary until the vear 1723 
when it was found that the lower ends of the uprights, especially on 
the lower side were being eaten by a small worm, possibly the limno- 
ria; they were then thoroughly repaired. In 1 744 there was a tre¬ 
mendous storm which tore away thirty of the uprights and made a 
breach into the store-room, but by great exertion this disaster was 
repaired before the close of the year. 

For many years after the light was established there were but two 
keepers; this number was ample for its maintenance, but it so 
happened that one of the men sickened and died, and the other, 
fearing to throw the body into the sea lest he might be charged with 


22 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES . 


murder, allowed it to remain in the light-house and hoisted a flag, 
which was the signal that he needed assistance. 

The weather was so bad for a whole month that the attending 
boat could not land, and when they finally succeeded the stench was 
so noisome that it was with the greatest difficulty that they could 
dispose of the body by throwing it into the sea, and it was not for 
long after that the rooms could be rid of the foul odor. After this 
the proprietors employed three men, to guard against the recurrence 
of such an accident. This also allowed each one in turn to go on 
shore for a month during the summer. 

The fire which destroyed this light house, which had withstood 
the fiercest storms for nigh half a century, took place in December, 
1755. The keeper going to snuff the candle at 2 A. M., found the 
lantern full of smoke, and when he opened the door was driven 
back by a burst of flame. 

The candles were twenty-four in number and weighed two and one- 
half pounds each; their long continued use must have thoroughly 
dried the woodwork of the roof of the lantern which besides was 
probably covered with soot, so that a spark would easily ignite it. 

The poor keeper did what he could to put out the fire; he after 
a while succeeded in awakening the other two keepers and they all 
tried to throw water on the flames, but as it had to be brought 
seventy feet high, they soon found their efforts unavailing, and in 
addition one of the keepers, the one who discovered the fire, was 
disabled by a curious accident. 

While he was looking upwards, endeavoring to see the effect of 
the water he had thrown, a shower of molten lead fell on his head, 
neck and shoulders — part of it ran inside his shirt-collar and burned 
him badly; he also felt an intense burning inside, and supposed that 
part of the lead had passed down his throat. 

The three men gave up the unequal struggle and descended from 
room to room, as they were driven by the heat and melting metal. 

Early in the morning the fire was seen on shore, and a philan¬ 
thropic gentleman fitted out a fishing boat which arrived at the 


RUDYERDS EDDYSTONE LIGHT 


23 


light house at 10 a. m. The fire had then been burning ei^ht 
hours; the light-keepers had been driven from the tower, and to 
avoid the falling timbers and red-hot bolts, had taken refuge in the 
hole or cave on the east side of the rocks under the iron ladder, near 
the landing. 

The men were stupefied, and the wind being from the east made a 
landing extremely hazardous, if not impracticable. They, however, 
were saved by the crew first anchoring the large boat, then a small 
boat was rowed toward the rock, paying out a rope which was 
attached to the large boat; when near enough to the rock a heav- 
ing-line was thrown to the men. Each light-keeper in turn fastened 
the rope around his waist, and jumping into the sea was hauled into 
the boat. 

As the fishing-boat could do nothing to quell the flames it returned 
to Plymouth to land the keepers; one as soon as he got on shore ran 
away, it is supposed in a panic; the one burned by the melted lead 
was sent to his own house for medical attendance ; he was ninety-four 
years old, but remarkably active considering his age. He told the 
doctor that he had swallowed the molten lead, and that he could not 
be cured unless it was removed. He lived until the twelfth day, 
when he suddenly expired—the doctor opened his stomach, and found 
therein a solid oval piece of lead weighing more than seven ounces. 
The doctor sent an account of the case to the Royal Society, but that 
wise body pooh-poohed the whole matter, and doubted the truth of 
the story. This nettled the good doctor, and to prove that animals 
might swallow molten lead and still survive, he tried the experiment 
on dogs and fowls, and found that they did live until he opened them 
to extract the lead. There is particular mention of one cock, who 
though dull would eat barley corn, from whose crop was removed a 
lump of lead weighing three ounces. These experiments seemed to 
prove the doctor’s case pretty effectually, but about all the satisfac 
tion he got was being censured for cruelty to animals. 

As soon as the light-house was destroyed, the proprietors set 
themselves to work to find some one to rebuild it; fortunately their 


24 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGIIT-ROUSES . 


choice fell on John Smeaton, formerly a philosophical -instrument 
maker, but later a mechanical engineer, and Fellow of the Royal 
Society, and it is to him we owe the famous Eddystone Light-House. 
He went to work methodically, and examined with great care the 
work of his predecessors, rejecting the weak and retaining the 
strong points; he then argued the matter out logically. In the first 
place he concluded that the weight should be as great as possible, 
and the mass as small, and that the structure must be safe from fire; 
these conditions he filled by choosing stone as the material from 
which to build it, and by so shaping the tower as to give it a broad 
base and slender waist — as he called it — he states that this form 
was suggested to him from contemplating the trunk of an oak, 
which had withstood a storm which had prostrated its fellows. He 
at once saw that the tower would not be secure if built of squared 
stones, like an ordinary wall, but that the stones must be bonded 
together so as to form one solid mass; this was in principle, the 
same as Rudyerd adopted, but as the material used was different, 
the result had to be accomplished by different means. 

A natural solution was to anchor the stones with iron bolts, but 
this idea was discarded as involving too great time and expense, and 
instead the original idea was invented of dovetailing the stones to 
the rock and to each other; in this way the lower courses would be 
riveted to the rock, and each of the upper ones be equivalent to one 
solid stone. 

In addition, it was considered necessary to fasten the stones of 
each course more securely to each other so as to prevent all lateral 
motion among them, and also to fasten each course to the one below 
it. The first was accomplished by oak wedges; each stone had two 
grooves, cut from the top to the bottom of the course; these grooves 
were one inch wide and three broad; when the stone was accurately 
placed on its mortar-bed, and beaten down with a wooden maul, two 
wedges were placed in the groove, one point, the other head down; 
they were then driven home rather gently at first with a rammer; 
these wedges were three inches wide, one inch thick at the head, and 



O/w/mi/ IDEAS, HINTS', tb SKETCHES, /£?/* u>7icmr Me Form of the PRESENT BUILDING uwiakrtt. 




























































































SMEATON'S EDDYSTONE LIGHT. 


25 


three-eighths inch at the point. As the pressure of these wedges was 
lateral they solidified the course. 

Each course was fastened to the one beneath with oak tree-nails, 
two one-andone-fourth-inch holes were bored in the outer end of each 
stone at the yard ; when they were placed and wedged, a hole one- 
and-one-eighth inch in diameter was bored in the stone beneath, and 
the tree-nail driven in, to insure its jamming tight in the lower hole, 
the lower end of the tree-nail was split and a wedge inserted, so 
that when it reached the bottom the wedge would expand it, and ef¬ 
fectually tighten it, the top was then cut off flush with the top of the 
course, and two wedges at right angles to each other driven into 
it. All the outside joints were then carefully pointed, and the other 
joints filled with grout. 

I have thus far described the general plan in considerable detail, 
but it would be tedious to recount all the devices used in bringing 
this structure to completion; for other information the reader is re¬ 
ferred to the accompanying drawings. Every pains was taken that 
ingenuity could devise to make this tower so strong that the utmost 
power of the fiercest storm would have no effect upon it. 

The light was first shown from the tower on the night of October 

o 4 o 

16, 1759. On August 5, 1756, the cutting of the rocks to receive 
the foundation was begun; from the time Rudyerd’s light was de¬ 
stroyed by fire till the completion of Smeaton’s tower was three years, 
ten months and sixteen days, the actual working time on the rock 
itself being one hundred and eleven days and ten hours. Notwith¬ 
standing the danger, difficulty and novelty of the undertaking it was 
completed without the loss of a single life, and scarcely with a serious 
accident. This was doubtless in a great measure due to the fact that 
Mr. Smeaton, the designer and builder superintended every part of 
the work himself, both on shore and at the rock, so that the work¬ 
men were never without his intelligent assistance. 

When the gilt ball surmounting the lantern was brought from 
shore, he fastened it in its position with his own hands, standing on 
a scaffolding consisting of four boards nailed together in the shape 


26 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


of a square, and slipped over the top of the lantern, a workman stand¬ 
ing on the opposite side of this precarious platform to balance Mr. 
Smeaton’s weight. 

I have been thus particular in the description of this tower, as it is 
the type of most all that have succeeded it on rocky sites similarly 
exposed; it was a magnificent conception, and so far as its inherent 
strength was concerned it might be standing until the present day. 

The following inscriptions were engraved upon it. On the first 
stone of the foundation, 1757, over the entrance, 1 758. Round the 
upper store-room upon the course immediately under the ceiling, 

Except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that 

build it. Psalm cxxvii. 

Over the south window, 1759 ; on the outward faces of the basement 
of the lantern, 

% . NE. (door) . SE . S. SW . W . NW. 

Upon the last stone set, being that over the door of the lantern on 
the east side, 

24th Aug. 1759. 

LAUS DEO. 

In 1877, Sir James Douglass, member of the Institution of Civil 
Engineers, explained to the Institution the necessity for substituting 
a new liglit-house for Smeaton’s famous structure. 

There were two reasons — the first was that though the existin'* 
structure was “ in a fair state of efficiency, yet unfortunately the 
portion of the gneiss rock on which it is founded had been seriously 
shaken by the incessant heavy strokes on the tower, and the rock 
was considerably undermined at its base.” 

The second reason was that in stormy weather the waves rise con¬ 
siderably above the summit of the lantern, thus frequently eclipsing 
the light and altering its distinctive character. 

The latter defect was of but little importance for a long time after 


THE NEW EDDYSTONE LIGHT. 


27 


the erection of this light-house, but of late years when the coast 
lights were so much multiplied, and in addition all vessels carried sig¬ 
nal lights, which formerly were not required, it now became a matter 
of absolute necessity that every coast light should have a reliable 
distinctive character. 

In 1877, the Trinity House (the Light-House Board of England) 
determined on the erection of a new light-liouse and directed their 
Engineer-in-chief to submit a design and estimate of cost including 
the removal of the upper part of Smeaton’s tower, that portion above 
the solid work; this demolition being necessary for the security of the 
lower part. 

The site selected for the new tower was on the reef S. S. E. from 
Smeaton’s light-house, about one hundred and twenty feet distant. 

There was no probability of the rock being undermined here, as 
there was no surrounding point of attack at a lower level; the main 
drawback was that the lower courses had to be laid below the lowest 
tides. 

The estimate was $390,000, but as the lowest bid from firms expe¬ 
rienced in sea-work was considerably above this sum, it was deter¬ 
mined that the Engineer-in-cliief should do the work without a con¬ 
tractor. 

By reference to the plate it will be seen that the general outline of 
the tower above the foundation was a curve, but that the face of the 
foundation was vertical; this change was made because it was found 
that the tendency of the curvilinear outline was to elevate the centre 
of force of each wave-stroke on the structure. 

Therefore a cylindrical base'was adopted and was carried two and 
one-half feet higher than the highest tides ; the difference in height to 
which heavy seas rise on the two structures is very marked — this 
cylindrical base has the further advantage of affording a convenient 
landing platform. 

The stones of the various courses are so cut as to interlock into each 
other, and were also fastened together with bronze bolts; the shapes 
of the stones differ from Smeaton’s, but the principle is the same. 


28 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


The first landing was made on the 17th July, 1878, when the site 
was examined and staked off for the workmen. 

The first work done was to build a central core of rough granite 
laid in Portland cement; this core or platform was raised ten feet 
above low tide, and was of the greatest use. 

For a radius of ten feet eight inches from the centre of the core 
the rock was cut in benches and cleaned, to prepare it to receive 
the foundation: around this and six inches from where the founda¬ 
tion would come a strong coffer-dam was built of bricks and Roman 
cement, the rocks were carefully cleared of all sea-weed with picks, 
and where they projected above the surface of the water strong sul¬ 
phuric acid was used — every available moment by day and night 
was utilized in building this dam — it was seven feet thick at the base 
and its maximum height was also seven feet; three radiating walls 
were formed in the dam, (1) for strengthening the dam, (2) for reduc¬ 
ing to a minimum the quantity of water to be ejected at each tide 
before commencing work, and (3) for affording, as they frequently did, 
a lee dam for carrying on the work, when otherwise it would have 
been impossible to keep the whole area free from water. 

While those portions of the dam which were two feet below low 
water were building, heavy bags of concrete were first deposited 
along the outside of the dam — occasionally a few courses of brick 
were carried away, but the dam never suffered any serious injury. 

In connection with the work the twin screw-tender Hercules , one 
of the two steam vessels employed in the construction of the Great 
and Little Basses Rock Light-Houses at Ceylon, was used here; she 
was fully equipped with all necessary machinery and was moored 
about thirty fathoms from the rock. 

The water was removed from the dam by two three-inch rubber 
hose, canvas covered and internally wired; they extended from the 
tender to the rock and the pumps of the tender, together with buck¬ 
ets used by the men, could empty one section of the dam in fifteen 
minutes. 

No blasting was allowed for fear of damaging the rock, so all the 




7 





(SMEATON’S) 
See page 24. 


i SVy/It (? jfsr/ 


Oturt/nif>/f -S'm/f 


DntMt Scab 


4 Vuw Rock <>r s/ir East Side, a **/^ Wokk a<7vem<r/ /«/w/«x\ r (4^ 

Landing 


-/ 1lOI. STINO fAe STO N ES ■) 


/MfTH/lS/' Ot 


* JJmt* ns/ O 
77* />%-M r ('JtSA7t \' 









































































STEVENSON’S EDDY ST ONE LIGHT. 


29 


superfluous rock was removed by drills, jumpers, cleaving tools and 
picks; this entailed considerable labor as each /ace-stone was sunk 
one foot below the surrounding rock. 

A hollow wrought-iron mast twenty-five feet long and sixteen 
inches in diameter was firmly fastened in the centre of the work ; two 
jibs were attached to the mast, one for landing the stone from the 
tender, the other for setting the stone; the drawing shows how these 
operations were performed. 

This is probably the first application of floating steam machinery 
to the actual erection of a structure at sea. 

By June, 1879, the work was sufficiently advanced to lay the stones 
in the foundation courses and everything was ready for H. 11. H., the 
Duke of Edinburgh, Master, accompanied by H. R. H., the Prince of 
Wales, Elder brother of the Trinity House, Hon. M. M. Inst. C. E., 
to lay the foundation stone on the twelfth of the month. 

The weather proved so boisterous that the attempt had to be de¬ 
layed until the nineteenth of August, when the sea being fairly 
smooth the Royal party landed. 

Prior to their arrival the dam had been pumped out and the stone, 
weighing three and one-fourth tons landed. 

A bottle containing a parchment-scroll with full details of the work 
having been placed in a cavity under the bed of the stone, and the 
cement bed properly prepared, the stone was lowered and adjusted 
in position by the Master of the Trinity House, assisted by the Prince 
of Wales. The stone was then declared “well and truly laid ” by 
his Royal Highness the Master. 

Fair progress on the work continued during the working season 
of 1879-81, so that on the first of June, 1881, the Duke of Edin¬ 
burgh landed on the rock and placed the last stone of the tower. 

The interior fittings were carried to rapid completion, and early in 
the following year a temporary light was shown. Tn the meantime 
the new optical apparatus was installed, and on the eighteenth of May 
the Duke of Edinburgh completed the work by lighting the lamps and 
formally opening the light-house. 



30 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


It takes a good deal of formality to get a light-house fairly under¬ 
way in England. 

The structure was completed within four years from the time it 
was commenced, and one year under the time estimated. 

To give an idea of the force of the waves, a cannon six feet long 
and three inches bore, weighing ten cwt. was found at the base of the 
tower in the winter of 1881. It is supposed that it was one of those 
carried by the Winclielsea , whose wreck has been mentioned. 

The Town Council and inhabitants of Plymouth were very desir¬ 
ous that that portion of Smeaton’s tower which was to be taken down 
should be saved and reerected on Plymouth Hoe in place of the sea¬ 
mark established by the Trinity House. The Trinity House had no 
funds available for the purpose, but they delivered to the authorities 
at Plymouth, at the actual cost for labor, the lantern and four rooms 
of the tower; these were erected by public subscription on a granite 
base corresponding to the lower portion of Smeaton’s tower, com¬ 
memorative of one of the most successful, useful and instructive works 
ever accomplished in civil engineering. 

The whole work was accomplished without the loss of life or limb 
to any person employed. The cost was $296,275, being $93,725, 
under the estimate. 

This completes the history of the four light-houses on the Eddy- 
stone Rocks. 


CHAPTER TIL 


BELL ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE. 



Bell Rock is a most dangerous sunken reef on the northern side 
of the entrance of the Firth of Forth, Scotland, and, consequently, 
a direct danger to all vessels entering the Firth of Tay. The near¬ 
est land, at Aberbrothok, is eleven miles distant. 

It is uncertain how the rock came to bear its name, possibly on 
account of its shape, which somewhat resembles a large bell ; but 
the tradition is that an abbot of Aberbrothok caused a bell to be 
erected on the rock which, by means of a floating apparatus, was 
rung by the motion of the waves, and that this bell was carried off 
by pirates. On this legend is founded the ballad of Sir Ralph the 
Rover, one of Southey’s minor poems. It should be mentioned that 
in old charts this rock was called Inch Cape, or Inch or the Island 
of the Cape, referring to the Red Head, the highest and most remark¬ 
able on that coast. 













32 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


Southey’s ballad is as follows : 

No stir in the air, no stir in the sea, 

The ship was still as she could be; 

Her sails from Heaven received no motion; 

Her keel was steady in the ocean. 

Without either sign or sound of their shock, 
The waves flowed over the Infchcape Rock; 

So little they rose, so little they fell, 

They did not move the Inchcape Bell. 

The Abbot of Aberbrothok 

Had placed that Bell on the Inchcape Rock; 

On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung, 
And over the waves its warning rung. 

When the rock was hid by the surge’s swell, 
The mariners heard the warning Bell; 

And then they knew the perilous rock. 

And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok. 

The Sun in heaven was shining gay; 

All things were joyful on that day; 

The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled i*ound. 
And there was joyaunce in their souud. 

The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen, 

A darker speck on the ocean green: 

Sir Ralph the Rover walked his deck, 

And he fixed his eye on the darker speck. 

He felt the cheering power of spring; 

It made him whistle, it made him sing: 

His heart was mirthful to excess, 

But the Rover’s mirth was wickedness. 

His eye was on the Inchcape float; 

Quoth he. “ My men, put out the boat. 

And row me to the Inchcape Rock, 

And I’ll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok.” 







Sm/A ELEVATION efthe STONE LIGHTHOUSE roa,/>/rh*t ipm t/ir EOYSTONE /// /ySq. 

_ S'A'it'/n/r t/ir Frosf>ert of the. /tea/rsf /.a/al, as appearsJram the /? aa/y ma c/sar ca//a Day: 


/Sn/frrrtYsJ t'n the Year *76$, Ay. J'/tr/iff /.. 


See page 25 




































































































' • 




































































» 
















* 











' 

















TEE 1NCUCAPE BELL. 


S3 


The boat is lowered, the boatmen row, 

And to the Iuchcapo rock they go; 

Sir Ralph bent over from the boat, 

And he cut the Bell from the Inchcape Float. 

Down sunk the Bell with a gurgling souud; 

The bubbles rose and burst around: 

Quoth Sir Ralph, “The next who comes to the Rock 
Won’t bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.” 

Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away; 

He scoured the seas for many a day; 

And now, grown rich with plundered store, 
lie steers his course for Scotland’s shore. 

So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky, 

They cannot see the Sun on high; 

The wind hath blown a gale all day; 

At evening it hath died away. 

On the deck the Rover takes his stand; 

So dark it is they see no land. 

Quoth Sir Ralph, “ It will be lighter soon, 

For there is the dawn of the rising Moon.” 

“ Canst hear,” said one, “ the breakers roar? 

For methinks we should be near the shore.” 

“ Now where we are I cannot tell, 

But I wish we could hear the Inchcape Bell.” 

They hear no sound; the swell is strong; 

Though the wind hath fallen they drift along, 

Till the vessel strikes with a quivering shock: 

“ O Christ! it is the Inchcape Rock! ” 

Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair, 

He curst himself in his despair: 

The waves rush in on every side}- 
The ship is sinking beneath the tide. 



34 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


But, even in his dying fear, 

One dreadful sound could the Rover hear, — 

A sound as if, with the Inchcape Bell, 

The Devil below was ringing his knell. 

At high water of spring tides the southwestern reef is about six¬ 
teen feet under the surface of the water, while that part of the rock 
on which the light-house is built is about twelve feet below. At low 
water of neap tides hardly any of the rock is visible, but at low 
water of spring tides the general level of the northeastern end, 
where the light-house is built, is about four feet above water, and 
occasional points are six feet above. Owing to the contrary tides' 
the peculiar position of the rock and its dangerous character, ordina¬ 
rily invisible, the need of a distinguishing mark upon it was early 
seen, and in 1793 Sir Alexander Cochrane made an official applica¬ 
tion to the Commissioners of the Northern Light-Houses, and they 
considered it an object of primary importance that one should be 
erected whenever funds should become available. 

In the mean time public advertisements were inserted in the 
papers calling for some suitable plan. Several propositions were 
received. Notably Captain Joseph Brodie prepared a model of a 
cast-iron light-house supported on four pillars, strongly braced 
together. The design was not altogether approved by the Light¬ 
house Board, but the projectors had so much confidence in their plan 
that they erected, at different times, two temporary wooden beacons 
which, unfortunately, were immediately washed away. 

The merchants of Leith, pleased by their perseverance, subscribed 
£150 toward the erection of a stronger temporary beacon, built of 
four strong spars, well braced and fastened with iron straps. The 
feet of the spars were let into the rock and also held to it by iron 
cemented to the rock with lead. This structure was erected with 
great difficulty in July, 1803. In the following December it entirely 
disappeared. 

Mr. Robert Stevenson, the designer of the Bell Rock light-house, 
paid the first visit to the rock in August, 1803 ; as he was favored by 


THE BELL ROCIC LIGHT-HOUSE. 


35 


both tide and weather he was enabled to land on the rock and remain 
there long enough to make a good sketch of it, during which time 
the boatmen devoted themselves to hunting for articles of shipwreck, 
and to such good purpose that before the tide overflowed they had 
collected a couple of hundred pounds of old metal of a miscella¬ 
neous character, among them being a kedge anchor, a stove, a shoe- 
buckle, several pieces of money, a ship’s marking-iron, etc. 

These relics of disaster eloquently spoke the need of a light to 
mark this spot. The result of this visit was that Mr. Stevenson was 
convinced that the proper kind of tower to be erected here should 
be of stone in preference to the pillar form, as there was ample room 
for a large base, and besides, the tides rose so high that a vessel 
might come full sail against any erection made there — were the 
structure pillar-formed it might readily be damaged — but if the 
building were of solid stone it is not likely that the vessel would 
have any effect upon it. 

The design was, therefore, made the same in principle as the 
Eddvstone, and is shown on the plate. 

Various petitions were made to the Light-house Board, setting 
forth the danger of this rock and the great necessity there was of prop- 
erlj' marking it, and though the Board recommended it, it was not 
until the year 1806 that the act of Parliament passed, authorizing 
its construction and appropriating a sufficient sum for its erection. 

A clause had been introduced into the bill authorizing the collec¬ 
tion of light-house duties of one penny half penny per register ton 
from British vessels, and three pence per ton from foreigners as soon 
as a ship or vessel was moored or anchored, and a floating or other 
light exhibited at or near Bell liock. 

In order that shipping might have the benefit of a light while the 
work was in progress, and also to have the benefit of the duties, a 
light-ship was fitted out; she was a Prussian fishing-vessel, captured 
by a British cruiser during the war of 1806 , flat bottomed and 
rounded at both stem and stern; her capacity for rolling and 
incapacity for steering became proverbial, and later, when she 


36 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGIIT-IIOUSES. 


was used as a storeship for the work, occasioned much trouble and 
uneasiness. 

The first work on the rock was to clear it from sea-weed, and to 
trace the sites of the beacon-house and light-house on the rock; 
after this was done the first landing; for erecting the beacon-house 
was made, which event was celebrated by three cheers and the regaling 
of each man with a glass of rum. Little work could be done the first 
dav, but the holes for the holdfasts of the beacon were commenced, 
and the smith laid out a site for the forge. 

The tide only allowed the men to remain two hours on the rock ; 

i 

when they returned on board they were variously employed in fish¬ 
ing, reading, drying their wet clothes, and listening to two or three 
companions who played the violin and German flute. They were 
blessed with reasonably good weather, and successfully bored all the 
dove-tailed holes for the iron holdfasts, and then commenced the cut¬ 
ting of the rock to receive the first course of masonry of the tower. 

It was quite a problem as to the best method of landing the large 
stones for the light-house, and various plans were suggested, such as 
to attach a cork buoy to each stone and float it to the rock, or to use 
an air-tank as a float, to load the stones in light-draught, flat-bottomed 
vessels which could sail over the rock at high tide and drop the 
stones overboard; to build so much of the light-house ashore in a 
sort of coffer-dam as would raise the building to the level of the hi<di- 
est tide, and, having prepared the foundation to receive it, to tow 
the coffer-dam to its site and lower it to its place. 

The method decided upon was to bring the vessels loaded with 
stone conveniently near the rock and to moor them, and then to 
transfer the stones to smaller deck boats, called praams, and to tow 
the latter to the rock at low tide, while the artificers were at work 
and ready to lay the stones in their proper positions. This method 
succeeded admirably; and when the first stone was landed all hands 
collected to welcome it and greet it with three cheers, and a glass of 
rum was served to each man. This formality accompanied every im¬ 
portant step of the work. The next day after the first stone was 


EDI>Y STOKE (SMEATON’S) IN A STORM. 
















































































































































BELL ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE. 


37 


landed, there occurred what might have been a most serious disaster. 
Soon after the workmen landed in the morning, the tender’s boat and 
crew put off from the rock to examine the tender’s moorings. The 
boat had no sooner reached the tender than the latter went adrift carry¬ 
ing the boat with her; as it was blowing hard it was with great 
difficulty that the crew could set the sails, and by the time this was 
done she had drifted some three miles to leeward, rendering it impossi¬ 
ble for her to return to the rock until long after it would be overflowed. 

The situation was indeed critical; there were thirty-two men on the 
rock, and only two boats which could carry in pleasant weather 
twenty-four men. For a long time the disaster was noticed only by 
Mr. Stevenson and the landing-master, as the men were busily em¬ 
ployed at their respective tasks. When, however, the tide rose and 
the work of necessity stopped, the men went toward their respective 
boats, and to their astonishment found but two instead of three; no 
one uttered a word, the men looked at each other and at Mr. Steven¬ 
son ; each man fully aware of the gravity of the occasion, and appar¬ 
ently calculating the chance of escape. 

Mr. Stevenson had been considering various schemes by which to 
save the men, and attempted to address them; but his mouth was so 
parched that he could not utter a word; he stooped to get a little 
sea-water to moisten his throat, and as he rose he heard the cry of 
“a boatl a boat!” and on looking round saw through the haze a 
large boat coming toward the rock. This proved to be the pilot-boat 
from Abroath with letters; half the men were put on board of her, 
the other half took the two boats and after a hard row, for the wind 
had increased to a gale, arrived on board worn out and drenched to 
the skin. 

The next morning but eight of the twenty-six workmen reported 
for duty, the rest had not got over their scare. When the eight re¬ 
turned from the rock, they saw the other eighteen on deck; but as 
the boat approached they went below; ashamed of their conduct. 
This was the on tv instance when the men refused to work, except 
the case of four Scotchmen, who would not work on Sundays. 


38 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


After various untoward accidents, and a narrow escape from ship¬ 
wreck of the whole party during a most violent storm the wooden 
temporary beacon was finally successfully erected; this was a most 
important proceeding, for the workmen could now safely remain at 
the rock all day; and the blacksmith could have his forge and bel¬ 
lows on a platform above the reach of the tide. When the beacon 
was finished, a small flag was displayed from its top “ by which its 
perspective effect was greatly improved.” The event was celebrated 
by three hearty cheers, and the custom of serving a dram of rum to 
each man was not forgotten. This closed the first season’s work, 
and the workmen returned to Abroath. During the first season the 
actual working time was but thirteen-and-a-half days. 

During the following winter the stones were cut to shape, and as 
may be seen by the plan, were dovetailed together; the outside shell 
was to be of granite to a height of thirty feet on the solid part of 
the structure; the rest of the building was of sandstone. 

Various experiments were made as to the kind of mortar to be 
used, and it was found that a mixture, of pozzolano and lime in a 
state of dry, impalpable powder, and clean sharp sand in equal pro¬ 
portions by measure, mixed with sea-water, formed a mortar equally 
good in all respects as when no sand was added. 

Ordinarily it would have been difficult to obtain a sufficient number 
of good men to go on with the work, but as the men were exempt 
from the danger of being impressed on men-of-war, Great Britain 
being at war with France at the time, the work became very popular. 
The men were furnished with a ticket descriptive of their persons, to 
which was attached a silver medal having on one side a figure of Bell 
Rock Light-House, and on the other the word “ medal.” The Impress 
officers generally respected this. 

On the 25tli May, 1808, the workmen again embarked for the rock 
and landed; on the next day, the light-house colors were hoisted on 
the beacon. 

The first course for the foundation of the light-house was finished 
at the stone-yard on the 4th June, the birthdav of Kino- George III. 

• O D 


BELL ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE . 


39 


Work was carried on briskly at the rock, and by the 9tli of June the 
foundation pit was completed and the first stone landed. At 11 a. m. 
the next day the stone, on which had been chiseled “ 1808,” was 
securely placed, and Mr. Stevenson pronounced the following bene¬ 
diction : “ May the Great Architect of the universe complete and 
bless this building,” on which three hearty cheers were given, and 
success to the future operations drunk with the greatest enthusiasm. 

By the 2Gth of July, the eighteen detached pieces of stone form¬ 
ing the foundation-course had been laid, and the whole surface 
brought to uniform level. 

As the other courses when laid would be under water at high tide, 
their weight was not alone relied upon to retain them in place, but 
they were also held by oaken treenails, as described in the construc¬ 
tion of the Eddystone tower. 

Bv the end of the season the base of the tower had been built to a 
level with the highest part of the foundation pit, or about five feet 
six inches above the lower end of the foundation stone. The men 
were at work during low water two hundred and sixty-five hours, 
only eighty of which were employed in building. During the storms 
of the following winter but slight accidents happened to the beacon, 
and these admitted of easy repair. 

The first thing done the next season wrs to fit up the wooden 
beacon as a temporary residence. AVork was commenced laying 
the stones, and by the 8th July the work was so far advanced that 
the high tide for the first time did not overflow the building, and the 
usual cheering and rum were indulged in. 

On August 25 the last stone of the solid part of the building was 
laid, and the work on the tower closed for the season; this event also 
was observed with the usual ceremonies. The tower was now thir¬ 
ty-one feet six inches above the foundation course and seventeen feet 
above high water. In the next year the last stone was laid on July 30. 
During the vear there had been various accidents and several nar- 
row escapes, but fortunately no loss of life. 

It is sufficient to show how high the waves would run up this tower, 






40 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


when it is stated that the men were occasionally driven from their 
work, even when the tower had reached the height of eighty feet. 
When the stonework had been completed, the tower was one hun¬ 
dred and two feet six inches high, and had reached the lintel of the 
door of the lantern. The lantern was built and glazed by the 25th 
of October. This closed the season’s work. 

Two light-keepers were left in the tower in October; the following 
November, when an additional supply of water and provisions were 
taken out to them, they were asked as to their experience. One of 
them stated that in storms when particular seas struck the light¬ 
house would tremble, and reminded him of the effect produced when 
a round log was hit sharply with a mallet, and though he had every 
confidence in the stability of the building, yet it “made a man look 
back upon his former life.” 

The lamps and reflecting apparatus were safely placed in the 
tower in December, 1810, and on the 17tli of the month notice was 
given that on the night of February 1, 1811, the light would first be 
exhibited. 

On the 30th July, 1814, Sir Walter Scott, Mr. Stevenson and sev¬ 
eral other gentlemen visited the light-house. Tlicy took breakfast 
in the library, and at the earnest entreaty of the party, Sir Walter, 
after inscribing his name in the album or visitor’s book, wrote the 
following verse: — 

Pharos loquitur. — 

Far in the bosom of the deep, 

O’er these wild shelves ray watch I keep, 

A ruddy gem of changeful light, 

Bound on the dusky brow of Night, 

The seaman bids my lustre hail, 

And scorns to strike his timorous sail. 

In conclusion, it may be of interest to state that this important 
structure contains 28,530 cubic feet of material, and weighs 2.076 

' o * 


tons. 




EDDY STONE—PLANS AND CONSTRUCTION. 

See page 27. 


Xfal* iO Sett, ■ 1 If eft ■ 




PL Af<l AND SECTION at LOW WATER SPRING TIDES. SHEWING LAN Ot NG ano SETTING arrangement*.. 


Spun din a a in- Fathoms . 




















































































CHAPTER IV. 


SKERRYVORE LIGIIT-IIOUSE . 



The liglit-house at Skerryvore is another of those remarkable 
structures, of which Eddystone was the type, which we owe to the 
genius of the Stevenson family. 

The cluster of rocks opposite the west coast of Scotland, the 
largest of which is known as the Skerryvore, has long been a 
standing menace to the mariner, and, from the great difficulty of 
access to it, exposed as it is to the full fury of the Atlantic and sur¬ 
rounded by almost perpetual surf, the erection of a light-house upon 
it has always been regarded as a most formidable undertaking. 

The success of Stevenson, the elder, at Bell Rock and the valuable 
experience gained there warranted the attempt to erect a similar 
structure at this place, as its importance as a light-station was too 
evident to require argument. 

A long list of disasters, comprising the total loss of many vessels 
and of most of their crews, is a melancholy proof of the dangerous 








42 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


character of the reef and of the need of a light which would con¬ 
vert it from a source of danger to one of safety. 

As the plate shows, the Skerryvore reef is a tract of foul ground, 
consisting of a number of small rocks, many below the level of high 
water : the surface of the principal rock on which the light-house is 
placed measures, at the lowest tides, about two hundred and eighty 
feet square. It is extremely irregular and is intersected by many 
gullies of considerable breadth and of unlooked-for depth, which 
leave it solid only to the extent of one hundred and sixty by seventy 
feet. One of these gullies, at the southeast corner of the rock, 
formed the landing-creek after clearing it by blasting under water; its 
sides and bottom were left comparative^ smooth, and a landing could 
be effected here when the rocks were elsewhere inaccessible. 

Another gully, immediately to the southeast of the light-house, 
was quite a natural curiosity; it was found to undermine the rocks 
for eight or ten feet and to terminate in a hollow submarine chamber 
which threw up a jet of water about twenty feet high accompanied 
by a loud noise like the snorting of some sea monster. Notwith¬ 
standing the beauties of this jet, it was a source of considerable dis¬ 
comfort and inconvenience, as it drenched any one whose work 
carried them near it. One calm day, at a very low tide, Mr. Alan 
Stevenson explored its interior by means of ropes and a ladder: he 
found the cavern to terminate in a polished spherical room, about 
seven feet in diameter, its floors strewn with boulders whose inces¬ 
sant motion had hollowed it out of the veined rock and rendered its 
interior beautifully smooth and glassy. As the cavern penetrated too 
far toward the place which Mr. Stevenson had selected for the site of 
the tower he changed somewhat the location of the foundation, and 
he also filled the cavern to prevent the discomfort of being drenched 
by the column of water which spouted from it even during calm 
weather. 

Another peculiarity of the rock, in addition to its shattered and 

disjointed appearance was the glassy smoothness of its surface, 

which proved throughout the whole duration of the work, but esoec- 

' * 


SKERRYVORE LIGHT-HOUSE . 


43 

ially at its commencement, a serious obstacle and hindrance to the 
operations. At first sight this peculiarity may seem to be of little 
moment, but, as landings had often to be made in very bad weather, 
there was considerable danger in springing from a boat in a heavy 
surf upon an irregular mass of rocks as smooth and slippery as ice, 
and many awkward accidents occurred. The foreman of the masons 
said it was “ like climbing up the side of a bottle.” 

During the progress of the work the rise and fall of the tides was 
measured — at high spring tides the rise was from twelve to thirteen 
feet, and three feet at dead low neap tides. The velocity of spring 
tides is between four and five miles, and of neap tides between two 
and three miles an hour. Although an act of Parliament in 1814 
provided for the erection of this light, yet the undertaking appeared 
so formidable it was not until 1834 that the Light-house Board of 
Scotland took any measures to carry the provisions of the act into 
effect. 

The first thing done was to make a careful survey of the site, an 
operation attended with much labor, as in connection with the work 
it was particularly desirable to have exact details of the depths, 
rocks and shallows of the surrounding sea with the nature of the 
bottom accurately laid down. This information afterward proved 
extremely useful during the progress of the work, as some of the 
vessels lying near the rock were frequently driven, by change of 
wind, to seek shelter among the neighboring islands. 

Up to this time seamen knew but little of the extent of the reef. 
On one occasion a vessel was boarded within three-fourths of a mile 
of Skerryvore, between it and a rock known as Bo-rhua, or red rock. 
So little did the captain know of his proximity to these dangerous 
reefs that he was found lying at ease on the companionway, smoking a 
pipe, with his wife sitting beside him knitting stockings. 

During the survey Ilynish, a creek twelve miles from Skerryvore, 
was selected as a site for the work-yard and harbor for the vessels. 
The Duke of Argyle gave free permission to quarry materials for 
the purpose of a light-house on any part of the Argyle estates, and 







44 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


during the summer of 1836-7 about 3,800 feet of gneiss rock were 
quarried and a rip-rap wharf or pier was commenced to improve the 
harbor at Hynish. In 1838 a steam-tender was ordered and a con¬ 
tract let for building a temporary barrack on the rock. 

Mr. Alan Stevenson chose an outline for the Skerryvore tower 
different from either the Eddystone or the Bell Rock, as the accom¬ 
panying sketch shows. 

The outline of the Skerryvore approaches more nearly to a conic 
frustum than either of the other two. This shape was chosen so 
that the thickness of the walls at the top might be increased — 
besides, the more nearly the walls approach a perpendicular the 
greater pressure is exerted on the stones near the base, and oper¬ 
ates to prevent them from being drawn from the wall as well, if not 
better than by any system of dovetailing or joggling , devices chiefly 
useful in the early stages of the work when it is exposed to storms 
and before the tower is raised to such a height as to prevent the seas 
from breaking over it. Consequent!} - , the other important differences 
in this work from the others was the absence of dovetailing and 
joggles between the courses. During the early progress of the work 
the stones were retained in their places chiefly by common diamond 
joggles, and the courses were temporarily held together with wooden 
treenails, like those used at Eddystone and Bell Rock. Ribbon jog¬ 
gles were used in the higher part of the tower, where the Avails begin 
to get thin, both to pre\ - ent any tendency of the stones to spread 
outwards, and also to make a better joint against the intrusion of 
Avater. The Avails were also tied together at various points by means 
of the floor-stones which were connected by dovetails let into large 
circular stones, forming the centres of the floors. 

The first season’s operations consisted solely of fixing in place the 
beams forming the pyramidal support for the temporary barrack; 
this was accomplished Avitli great difficulty and danger, and the dis¬ 
gust of Mr. Stevenson can avcII be imagined when he was informed 
of its total destruction the following winter. 

The next year, 1839, a stronger frameAvork Avas put up, the bar- 





TTKJ1S WBW 


0,I13W7Wi)i3SS>. 


See page 29. 














































































SKERR YVORE LIGUT-HO USE. 


45 


rack-house built upon it and the levelling of the rock to receive the 
foundation of the tower began. The cutting of the rock to a level 
surface was mainly done by blasting; injury to the men, who were 
of necessity in close proximity to the blasts, was avoided by covering 
the- mines with mats made of old rope. It is of some interest to note 



Eddystone. Skerryvore. Bell Rock, 


that Mr. Stevenson made use of a galvanic battery to fire the mines 
though its use was mainly restricted to blasts under water, or when 
several blasts were to be fired simultaneously. After the year’s work 
was closed a report was received that the temporary barrack had 
again been destroyed; this, fortunately, proved untrue, the damage 
beimr confined to the loss of all the timbers and other material which 

O 

had been left lashed to the rock, and of the moorings of the tender. 

The next year found the barrack all secure, and the stock of pro¬ 
visions left in it for the use of any seamen who might be wrecked on 
the rock was in sufficiently good condition to be used by the work¬ 
men who, with Mr. Stevenson, took up their abode in the barrack, 
— a comfortless residence in stormy weather, when, for days together, 
it was impossible to descend to the rock, and it was impossible to 
keep warm except by remaining in bed. 

The plate shows the nature of their singular dwelling; imme¬ 
diately under the tower was a wooden gallery for the storage of coal, 



46 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


tool-chests, beef and beer casks, and other materials which could not 
be safely left on the rock itself. The floor of this gallery was 
removed at the end of each season so as to leave free passage 
for the waves during the winter storms. Next came a kitchen 
and store-room, which, curtailed as it was by the seven beams pass¬ 
ing through it, contained a caboose capable of cooking for forty men, 
and various cupboards and lockers lined with tin for holding the 
provisions. 

The room above was divided into two apartments, one for the 
superintendent of the landing-gang and the foreman of the masons, 
the other for Mr. Stevenson. 

The highest apartment, surmounted by a ventilator, was lined 
round the sides with four tiers of berths or bunks, capable of accom¬ 
modating thirty people. The closeness of the room was most intol¬ 
erable, especially during the heat of summer. These were, indeed, 
cramped quarters for so many people when it is considered that this 
odd, twelve-sided house, perched up like a bird-box on a pole, was 
only twelve feet in diameter. 

The following was the daily routine when weather permitted: the 
men were roused at half-past three in the morning ; at four the 
work commenced, breakfast at eight, for which half an hour was 
allowed, work until two, when there was another half hour for 
dinner, when the work was again resumed and carried on till seven, 
eight, and even nine o’clock, when anything urgent was on hand; 
supper was then eaten in the cool of the evening. These protracted 
hours produced continual drowsiness, and any one who sat down 
generally fell asleep. 

The ceremony of laying the foundation-stone was performed on 
the 7th July, 1840, by Ilis Grace, the Duke of Argyll, who was 
accompanied by the Duchess of Argyle, the Marquis of Lome, Ladv 
Emma Campbell, and a party of friends; he left a donation of £10 
to be divided among the workmen. 

During the year the tower was carried to the height of eight feet 
two inches, and contained a mass equal to 10,780 cubic feet, not 


LIGHT-HOUSE OF BEAUX BE B REHAT. 


47 


much less than the whole mass of Smeaton’s Eddvstone tower. From 
this time forward the building of the tower made comparatively 
rapid progress, and finally, on the 21st July, 1842, the last stone was 
successfully laid. 

The masonry of the tower is one hundred and thirty-seven feet 
high and contains 58,580 cubic feet, weighing about 4,380 tons. 

The lantern was placed the same year, and the work for the season 
was closed on the 14th September. In 1843 the interior fittings of 
the tower were completed and the light was exhibited to the mariner 
on the night of the 1st February, 1844. In the course o f the summer 
of 1844 a marble tablet, bearing an inscription in letters of gold 
was, by order of the commissioners, placed over one of the windows 
in the visiting officer’s room. 


LIGHT—HOUSE OF HEAUX DE BRlfllAT. 

On the coasts of France, light-houses were needed, as in England, 
on difficult sites, and it is interesting to compare the different man¬ 
ners in which similar problems were solved in the two countries. 
I have selected the Light-house of Ileaux de Brehat as one compara¬ 
tive type; it is situated about three miles from the most northerly 
end of the Peninsular of Brittany, on the plateau of Ileaux de Brehat, 
which consists of a porphyritic rock about five hundred and sixty 
yards in diameter at low tide, and entirely submerged at high tide 
except a few scattered projections. 

Here the currents are very strong, at times running as high as eight 
knots an hour, and the sea in gales attaining an extraordinary 
violence. 

The tower instead of being placed on the highest part of the rock, 
was situated at a place near which landings could most conveniently 
be made in order to reduce as much as possible the cost and delay of 
landing the materials used in its construction. 

At the Isle of Brehat near by, a natural harbor was improved; 
and the storehouses and work-shops were built. All the stones were 


48 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


cut here, and in order to insure accuracy each course was laid out 
on a platform; the stones were then shipped on barges of about forty- 
tons burden, each stone carrying its number, its sling, and surrounded 
with straw mats to prevent its edges being chipped. The stones 
were unloaded, and placed by means of a series of derricks, which 
passed the stones to each other. A Hying scaffold was also used for 
the convenience of the workmen, and was carried up as the work 
progressed. It consisted of a series of small fir trestles clasped 
against the tower by means of two chain bands which were tightened 
by jack-screws. When the scaffold was to be raised, the men stood 
on the masonry; the screws were loosened, each man seized a tres¬ 
tle, and at the word of command all lifted together. The chain bands 
were then retightened ; the entire operation did not take more than 
half an hour. 

The accompanying drawing, taken at low tide, shows how the 
work was carried on when the tower had reached the height of about 
one hundred and thirty-five feet above the rock. It was important that 
the men should live on the rock, so that they could be usefully em¬ 
ployed, even during bad weather. 

]STo matter how well and carefully the stones might be prepared, 
they had to be finished on the spot; and notwithstanding that ar¬ 
rangements had been perfected to assure rapidity in the landing of 
material, it was at times impossible to lay all of the stones of a cargo 
during one low tide. 

Two adjacent slender peaks, near the centre of the plateau with 
their summits almost twenty feet above the highest tides, offered a 
good site for the erection of the necessary buildings. The space be¬ 
tween them was filled with loose stone retained in place on one side 
by a vertical wall, and on the other by an inclined plane, both built 
of heavy blocks of stone laid in cement. A nearly square platform 
was thus made about thirty feet on the side, on which was erected a 
stout frame building, well anchored to the rock, and containing 
store-rooms, a small forge, and rooms for the engineer, foremen and 
workmen. The building was surmounted by a small tower, from 


IZ 



Drawn by .Miss Sicvcnxon. Engraved bv J.Horabnrgh 

See page 31 . 





'faz 4. W <)^j 

l?-£ / L' w /aSi_^£c/L 1 'Z 

cl 

/tcn. C-'VV— 




It 




(Xl^ 



C^. 'Vi'V 


/ ^i/~c r vJ 


{Jc-tx- 


/tv /l-t-c-'- ^'1 






















UEAUX DE BREHAT LIGHT-HOUSE. 


49 


which was shown a temporary light. In this building were accom¬ 
modated sixty men, who worked on the rock as soon as it was 
uncovered by the falling tide, and who found it their only refuge 
when the tide again rose. 

In the light-houses at Eddystone and Bell rock, the lower courses 
were bonded together in a complicated manner by means of dove¬ 
tails, and were held to each other by numerous iron or wooden dow¬ 
els ; at Skerryvore there was a departure from this system, which in 
addition to the expense it entails, materially retards the work at its 

I 

critical stage. At the light-house of Brehat there was a still farther 
departure from precedent, and it was decided not to fasten each 
stone separately; but to limit the quantity of masonry to that which 
could be put in solidly during one low tide. 

Each course was divided into a certain number of sections or kevs, 
each of which was connected by means of four small granite blocks; 
fitted in each course, and placed in the angles of the sections. The 
angular stones belonging to the exterior facing, being thus kept in 
place, form tie pieces, supporting the facing stone which come be¬ 
tween them, and are attached to those which compose the sides of 
the key by means of dovetails let in their whole thickness. Fin¬ 
ally, the interior face, maintained upon the preceding course by 
two stones, is also held by the stone belonging to the course 
above, which being placed across the joint allows the tie pieces on 
that side to be suppressed. The perimeter thus being made firm, 
artifices of construction were not required for the interior; and in 
the lower courses where it was necessary to finish rapidly, and where 
there was considerable surface, it was completed in rubble masonry. 
This method was entirely successful; in no case was any damage 
sustained when an entire course could be finished before the return 
of the tide, which was generally accomplished ; it was the same even 
when the work had to be discontinued, without having to place any 
other stones than those of the facing, from which the work was al¬ 
ways commenced; occasionally they were not prepared in time, and 
some stones were raised and moved a short distance out of place. 



50 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


These were readily reset, and the method was found advantageous 
both as to economy and rapidity of execution. 

The porphyritic rock on which the light-house is built is of ex¬ 
treme hardness, and rapidly wears out the best tools; but in many 
places it is fissured, and the sea breaks off small fragments. This 
prevented the establishment of the foundation on the same level 
throughout, and it was found necessary to divide it into several parts 
so as to avoid any chance of its being swept away, and also to dimin¬ 
ish the cost of excavation. 

In the centre a circular space fourteen feet in diameter, corre¬ 
sponding to the interior hollow of the tower, was left untouched ; 
outside this an annular space thirty-nine feet in exterior diameter 
was levelled off six inches below the lowest portion of this part of 
the plateau; then at the circumference there was hollowed out a 
trench forty inches wide, of a depth varying with the condition of 
the rock so that no part of the base should be protected by less than 
sixteen inches in height of compact porphyry. 

The light-house consists of a tower with an interior cylindrical 
opening fourteen feet in diameter, and one hundred and fifty-eight 
feet high from its base to the lantern floor. It consists of two prin¬ 
cipal parts, the lower trumpet-shaped and solid to three feet four 
inches above the highest tides, the upper, considered as standing on 
an immovable base has a degree of lightness about the same as that 
usually given to towers of the same height built on shore; the thick¬ 
ness of the walls is four feet four inches at the bottom and decreases 
to two feet ten inches at the top under the cornice. 

The interior is divided as follows : the two lower stories are store¬ 
rooms, the four above are the kitchen and keeper’s quarters; the 
seventh, fitted up rather better than the rest is a room for the en^i- 
neer; the eighth is a watcli-room, and above that is the lantern-room. 

The casing of the stairway is built in the tower wall on one side, 
and forms on the other a projection, upon the cylindrical opening of 
the tower, the recesses on each side of which are utilized as closets. 
The entire work is built of granite of fine, close grain, and of a bluish 


LIGHT-HOUSE OF AR-MEN. 


51 


tint. The arches are built of brick, made according to pattern, ex- 
cept the one supporting the floor of the service-chamber which is of 
concrete, the brick not arriving in time. 

The cost of this structure was $106,365 exclusive of the lantern 
and illuminating apparatus. 


LIGHT-HOUSE OF AR-MEN. 

More difficult than the preceding was the building of the foun¬ 
dation of the light-house of Ar-men, France. The island of Sein 
is situated on the western extremity of the department of Fin- 
isterre, in the northwest part of France, and extends in a west¬ 
erly direction by a succession of reefs to a distance of nearly eight 
miles from the island. The tops of some are elevated above the 
highest tides; others are alternately above and below the surface of 
the water, while the greater number are always submerged. They 
constitute a sort of dam, whose direction is nearly perpendicular to 
that of the tidal currents, and the sea constantly breaks over them 
with great violence. 

In April, 1860, the Light-house Board of Franee determined that the 
subject should be thoroughly investigated, in order to know if it would 
be possible to erect a first-order liglit-house on one of the rocks not 
covered by the sea and as near as possible to the end of the reef. 
Next June this action was approved, and a commission of engi¬ 
neers and officers of the navy were charged with the duty of mak¬ 
ing survevs of the localitv. 

In July this Commission had made a careful examination of the 
local conditions, and ascertained that there were three rocks at the 
extremity which projected above the water, even in strong tides. Of 
these rocks, which are called Madion, Schomeor and Ar-men, the 
two first are nearly covered, while the third rises to about five feet 
above the lowest ebb-tides. 

The state of the sea had not permitted the Commission to land, or 
even to go alongside Ar-men, but from the view that could be ob- 


t 


52 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

tained its dimensions appeared insufficient for the construction of a 
great light-house, and landings seemed impossible, even in the most 
favorable weather. 

The Commission, therefore, unanimously recommended the selec¬ 
tion of the Rock Neuerlach as a site, about five miles inward from 
the end of the reef. This recommendation was not approved by the 
Board, as it did not tend to ameliorate the existing state of things 

sufficiently for the needs of navigation, and the Ministry of Marine 

% 

was requested to order a thorough hydrographic survey of the end 
of the reef. 

Various circumstances retarded the execution of this work. In 
1866, M. Ploix, engineer and hydrographer, was sent to the spot, and 
though he was not able to gather all the necessary information, still, 
his investigation was sufficient to enable the Board to decide upon a 
plan — his conclusion was that Ar-men was the proper site. In true 
French style he said, “ It is a work exceedingly difficult, almost im¬ 
possible, but considering the paramount importance of lighting the 
reef, we must try the impossible.” 

The currents passing over the reef are most violent; in high tides 
their speed exceeds eight knots, and in the calmest weather they 
cause a strong chopping sea as soon as a breeze meets them. It is 
only possible to go alongside the rock during very gentle winds be¬ 
tween the north and east. 

The impossibility of anchoring a floating light was recognized as 
much on account of the great depth of water as of the fact that the 
bottom was thickly studded with rocks, about which the anchor-chain 
would be fouled. 

Owing to the great difficulty of construction the project of estab¬ 
lishing an iron structure resting directly on the reef was not enter¬ 
tained, the Board finally deciding that a solid masonry foundation 
must be established of such dimensions as would be suitable for the 
construction of a light-house. 

The size of the rock, which was of tolerably hard gneiss, was 
about twenty-five by forty-five feet at low tide ; the surface was 




See page 38 























’ 








































. 
































> 
































AR-MEN LIGIIT-HO USE. 


53 


very unequal and divided by deep fissures, and, while almost per¬ 
pendicular on the eastern side, there was a gradual slope on the 
western. 

The following mode of construction was decided upon: To bore 
holes a foot deep, and three feet four inches apart, all over the site 
of the intended structure, with other holes outside this limit, for ring¬ 
bolts necessary to hold boats coming alongside. The first set of holes 
was to receive wrought-iron gudgeons, to fix the masonry to the rock 
and to make the construction itself serve to bind together the various 
parts and the fissures, and thus consolidate a base whose precarious 
nature gave rise to some misgivings. Other additional gudgeons 
were to be used as became necessary, and* strong iron chains were 
to be introduced into the masonry as it progressed, so as to prevent 
any possible disjunction. 

For the work of boring the holes the services of the fishermen of 
the Seine were called into requisition, as they were familiar with all 
the rocks of the reef, and were in a position to take advantage of 
every favorable moment. After many difficulties, they accepted a 
contract, the Government agreeing to furnish tools and life-belts. 

Inl8G7 work was vigorously begun and every possible chance was 
seized. Two men from each boat landed on the rock, and, provided 
with their life-belts, lay down upon it. Holding on with one hand, 
they held the jumper or the hammer in the other, working with 
feverish activity, the waves constantly breaking over them. 

One was carried off the rock, and the violence of the current bore 
him a long distance from the reef, against which he would have been 
dashed to pieces, but his life-belt kept him afloat and a boat went to 
fetch him back to work. There is no record as to whether he was 
docked for lost time. 

During the building of Minot's Ledge light-house, near Boston, a 
similar accident happened, and though the man was saved he lost his 
tools. To prevent a recurrence of this disaster, he fastened the tools 
to his wrists with long cords. Another heavy wave washed him off, 
and he floated away as before, with the exception that this time his 


54 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


feet instead of bis bead appeared above water; however, he was res¬ 
cued in time, but not in a condition to do any further work that day. 
It is unnecessarv to add that he tied himself to his tools no more. 

At the close of the season’s work at Ar-men, seven landings had 
been made and eight hours’ work accomplished, during which time 
fifteen holes had been bored in the higher parts of the rock. 

The following j’ear more difficulties were encountered, as it was 
necessary to commence on the part hardly above water; but (he ex¬ 
perience gained was valuable, and the fishermen were stimulated by 
higher wages. The season proved favorable. Sixteen landings were 
effected, giving eighteen hours of work, during which forty new holes 
were bored, and they even succeeded in partially levelling and pre¬ 
paring the rock for the first course of masonry. 

The actual building of the masonry was not commenced until 
1869. The galvanized wrouglit-iron gudgeons, forty inches long and 
two and four-tenths inches square, were fixed in the holes, and the 
masonry of small undressed stone was laid in Parker-Medina cement. 
A cement of the most rapidly hardening character was essential, for 
the work was carried on in the midst of waves breaking over the 
rock, and which sometimes wrenched from the hand of the workman 
the stone he was about to set. An experienced sailor, holding on to 
one of the iron stanchions, was always on the watch to give warning 
of such waves as were likely to sweep the rock, when the men would 
hold on, head to the sea, while the water washed over them. On 
the other hand, when he announced a probable calm, the work went 
on with great rapidity. 

All the workmen were supplied with life-belts, as the fishermen 
had been, as well as with spike-soled shoes to prevent slipping. The 
foreman, also, and the engineer, who by their presence always en¬ 
couraged the men, were similarly furnished. 

When a landing was practicable, the stone and small bags of cem¬ 
ent were landed by hand, and care was taken to dress the surface of 
the masonry before commencing a new course. The cement was 
used pure, and of necessity mixed with sea water. Since* 1871, 


AR-MEN LIGHT-HOUSE. 


53 


Portland cement was substituted for Parker, the resistance of the 
former to the action of the water having been found superior to the 
latter, and the stonework at the foot of the tower was preserved by 
refdling the interstices with this material. 

As the tower grew in height, the work naturally proceeded more 
rapidly, but it was not until 1881 that the structure was finally com¬ 
pleted, and the light shown. 

The light is of the first order, fixed white, with its focal plane 
ninety-six feet above the level of the sea. This limit might have 
been exceeded so as to make it of the usual height of a first-order 
tower, had it not been for the insufficiency of the base. The stabil¬ 
ity of the structure was necessarily of paramount importance. 
There are eight stories, one of which contains the fog signal. The 
various dimensions are shown in the drawing. It will be noticed 
that a similar arrangement of the staircase is used here as in the 
light-house of Ileaux de Brdhat. 

The work was conceived and planned by M. Ldonce Reynaud, 
director of the light-house service. It was carried on under the 
greatest of difficulties, and too much praise cannot be given to the 
brave sailors and Breton workmen who insured the success of an en¬ 
terprise bolder and more rash than any preceding undertaking of a 
similar nature. 


CHAPTER Y. 


OTHER LIGHT-HOUSES WITH SUBMARINE FOUNDA¬ 
TIONS. 

Another method for constructing a foundation under water was sue- 

n 

cessfully practised during the building of the light-house at Haut 
Banc du Nord. This is a limestone plateau about two miles off the 
northeastern extremity of the Isle of Re. It is nearly horizontal 
and about fifteen hundred feet long by five hundred broad. It is cut 
up by numerous channels of various depths, and is only uncovered 
at low spring tides, when the wind happens at the same time to be 
off shore. The rocky shoals surrounding it permit only crafts of 
small tonnage to approach, and at low tide the winding channels 
render tlii3 approach difficult even for the smallest boats. It was 
therefore necessary to anchor the transports at some distance from 
the rock, and to convey the material to it in barges — a difficult and 
risky business, even in a moderately rough sea. 

To establish the foundation there was first constructed a large iron 
bottomless caisson, in the form of a twelve-sided prism, which was 
suitably braced on the inside. It was nearly forty-seven feet in 
diameter, four feet high, and weighed about fiv-e tons. Sustained bv 
means of floats, it was towed into place at high tide by a small 
steamer and then grounded on the rock. After the tide had fallen 
sufficiently, and while it was not too rough, a movable flooring was 
placed on the upper frame of the interior bracing, and on it the work* 
men made the concrete for filling the caisson. 

The lower part of the foundation was made of concrete poured 
through copper tubes one foot in diameter, and funnel-shaped at top. 


14 



DrBvm-Yry J M.W.Tfirner H A. Euj>rav«l l>y.T.JIoi«biitfdi 


B )'£ X, IL JR^ ^JI©:lT IBI (©torn 

See page 40. 


■3 Tr? 

nk 
































LIGHT AT IIAUT BANC DU NORD. 


57 


As soon as the water had fallen sufficiently to uncover the concrete, 
the remainder of the foundation was built of rubble masonry, which 
could be laid much more rapidly. The solid masonry then built was 
protected by a band of cut stone, which was placed after the tower 
was completed. 

This work was commenced in 1849 and completed in 1853. The 
cut-stone protection, however, was not placed until some years later. 
Its cost was about $66,000. 

It is a third-order light-house. The base is a solid mass of masonry. 
Above are the rooms communicating with each other and with the 
lantern by means of a series of small stairs. The size of the tower 
did not admit of a separate staircase, as in the preceding instances. 

As reference has been made in the preceding pages to lights 
of various orders, it is proper to state, for the benefit of the lay 
reader, that light-houses are divided into various orders, from the 
first to the sixth, according to the lens apparatus for which they 
are designed; the first order being the most powerful and also neces¬ 
sitating the highest towers, so that the curvature of the earth will 
not cut off the light too soon; these are placed on outlying capes, 
rocks and headlands, to give warning of approach to the coast 
line. The range assigned to first-order lights varies from eighteen 
to twenty-seven nautical miles, according to their character. 

Second and third order lights are employed to mark Hie secondary 
capes, islands, rocks, reefs and sand-bars embraced between the 
more prominent headlands, while lights of inferior order designate 
the entrances to harbors and channels, and vary in intensity accord¬ 
ing to the distance at which they should be seen. These are general 
principles, but geographical reasons prevent them from being applied 
rigorously. 


LONGSHIPS AND WOLF ROCK. 

In 1795 a light-house on Longships Rock and beacons on the 
Wolf and Rundlestone were erected in order to mark the dangers 
of the coast near Land’s End, England. In 1841 a light-ship was 


58 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


moored in forty fathoms of water off the Sevenstones Rocks, midway 
between the Land’s End and Scilly. These were all works of con¬ 
siderable difficulty. 

The Longships’ light-house is a granite structure, but as the light 
is only seventy-nine feet above high water of spring tides, the lantern, 
owing to the terrific seas, was so much under water during stormy 
weather, that it was difficult to determine the character of the light. 

As it was not considered safe to raise the tower to a sufficient 
height to render the lantern safe from the heaviest seas, it was deter¬ 
mined to replace it by a granite column one hundred and ten feet 
above the water. The work was commenced in 18G9 and was com¬ 
pleted, with the exception of setting the lens, in 1873. 

There is an arrangement for marking the dangers of the Rundlc- 
stone Rocks to the southward and the Brissons Rocks to the north¬ 
ward, by sections of red light. As these rocks are well out from 
land they were great dangers to navigators. 

The Rundlestone lies about four miles to the southeastward of 
Longships, and is three-quarters of a mile from shore. It measures 
about seventeen feet nine inches by eight feet nine inches at low 
water of spring tides, but the only available portion for a beacon is 
a place about four feet in diameter at a level of seven feet above low 
water of spring tides. The rock, composed of hard gray granite, 
forms part of a dangerous group of shoals, and is the only portion 
visible at low water. 

The beacons mentioned as having been placed on the Rundlestone 
and Wolf rocks were wrouglit-iron poles about four inches in diame¬ 
ter, sunk into the rocks and held in their places with melted lead. 
That on the Wolf was twenty feet high and supported by six 
wrouglit-iron stays ; the one on Rundlestone was shorter, as there 
was not room for the stays. Both were surmounted by spherical 
iron cages to make them distinguishable. Both were soon carried 
away by the sea. 

Another beacon was placed on the Rundlestone with oreat diffi 
culty and danger during the years 1841-43 : it was twice carried 


WOLF ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE . 59 

away, and finally a bell-buoy of peculiar construction, designed by 
Sir James N. Douglas, was substituted. 

Wolf Rock is composed of hard feldspatliic porphyry; its high¬ 
est part is seventeen feet above low water of spring tides, high tides 
rise two feet above it. The water is twenty fathoms deep on all 
sides, except on the southeast, where a shoal extends for a considera¬ 
ble distance. 

It took from 1836 to 1840 to erect a beacon on this rock. During 
these five years the men were only able to work three hundred and 
eight hours, and the cost of the work was over $55,000. The mast, 
which was of selected English oak, one foot in diameter, was carried 
away as early as November of the last-mentioned year. It was 
decided to replace it with a wrought-iron one seven and five-eighths 
inches in diameter, but no opportunity occurred until August, 1842. 
The succeeding winter it was bent three feet from the perpendicular, 
and in 1844 was broken off. The next July a nine-inch mast was 
placed, and the globe reduced to a diameter of four feet. This stood 
until 1848. In 1850 another nine-inch mast was put in, the globe 
reduced to three feet, and an iron cone filled with concrete was built 
round it; this stood for thirty years, until taken down during the 
construction of the light-house. 

From the preceding statements some idea can be obtained of the 
tremendous seas to which this rock is exposed. 

The first survey for the purpose of determining the exact position 
cf the proposed tower was made by James N. Douglas in 1861. lie 
landed upon the rock and made the best use possible of the short 
time he could stay; but the sea, getting up meanwhile, put a stop to 
his work, and as a boat could not with safety approach the rock 
owing to the increased swell, he was hauled on board through the 
surf by a line fastened around his waist. This mode of taking the 
workmen from the rock, when caught by a sudden change of weather 
and increase of surf was frequently employed afterwards under sim¬ 
ilar circumstances. 

In March, 1862, the working party was landed and commenced 


GO 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES . 


work on tlie foundation pit. The insecurity of the foothold, and the 
constant breaking of the surf over the rock, rendered great precau¬ 
tions necessary for the safety of the men. Heavy iron stanchions 
were sunk into the rock around the site for the foundation, to which 
were attached safety-ropes within easy reach of the men. An expe¬ 
rienced man was stationed on the summit to look out for the seas, 
and would give warning of such waves as would be likely to sweep 
the rock, when the men would hold on, head to the sea, while it 
washed over them. Picks, hammers, and jumpers, some exceeding 
twenty pounds in weight, were frequently carried away. 

During the first year, 1862, only twenty-two landings had been 
effected and eighty-three hours of work obtained during the season, 
although not a single opportunity had been lost to work, even if only 
for half an hour. The work was confined to blasting and cutting out 
the foundation pit for the tower, and in the erection of the landing- 
platform. 

By the end of the season of 1864, thirty-seven stones of the first 
entire course or second course of the tower were set, the landing- 
platform was nearly completed, and the landing-derrick or crane 
erected on the end of it. 

This landing-platform was constructed on account of the great dif¬ 
ficulty of landing upon the Wolf, which can only be effected on the 
northeast side, and even there the surface is rugged and without any 
vertical face for a boat to approach. As the material for this plat¬ 
form could only be landed from boats, small granite ashlar set in 
cement, similar to old English bond, was adopted, with the exception 
of some larger ashlar used for the steps and coping, and some rubble 
filling obtained from the foundation pit. The stones were each 24" 
x 12" x 6" rough pick dressed and laid in fresh Medina Roman 
cement. Frequently tides which were not low enough to allow work 
on the foundation pit allowed the men to work at this platform, 
which greatly facilitated the erection of the light-house and proved 
of permanent value, from the convenience it affords for landing and 
embarking at times when it would be impossible without it. 


ID 



Scale al' Feet 

f y f y 


See page 42. 


PLAN OF SKERRYVORE ROCK 

AT LOH r WATFR OF SFR/AV T7/XFS. 

Shoeing the -fife of (he- Lighthouse Toteer, Barracks, Cranes, trrsk Miter Tanks, ftai/tnrg &c 










































WOLF ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE. 


61 


The accompanying plate shows the amount of work accomplished 
each working season up to 18G8. The last stone was successfully 
laid in 18G9. The general internal arrangements are shown on the 
section of the tower. The same plate shows the methods of dove¬ 
tailing adopted. 

The step-ladders for ascending from floor to floor, and the par¬ 
titions between the rooms and staircases are of cast-iron, and the 
use of wood for fittings has been avoided as much as possible as 
a precaution against fire. The doors, windows and storm-shutters 
are constructed of gun-metal. The windows of the service-room 
are specially arranged for the air-supply of the lantern by means 
of valves which admit the air above the heads of the keepers, and 
upwards through an iron grating in the lantern floor. 

The relative position of the mooring buoys, barges and landing- 
boat, when at work, are shown on the plan. S S are the stone 
barges, L the landing-barge, and M M the mooring buoys. 

Each barge, when at the landing-crane, was moored, stem and 
stern, with ten-inch coir-hawsers, and the stern hawsers, which were 
the shorter, were frequently parted, notwithstanding their large size. 

The barrack schooner, containing the resident engineer, his 
assistants, and the working party, was moored east-northeast from 
the rock, at a distance of three-fourths of a mile, and remained there 
as long as there was any opportunity of doing any work. 

The landing-boat was built diagonally, of two five-eighths inch 
thicknesses of elm plank, without timbers or floors, and was provided 
with a landing-deck and mast forward. This deck and the gunwale 
were covered with rough rope matting, to afford a good foothold in 
jumping from or into the boat. Each workman was provided with a 
life-belt, which he was required to wear while landing on or embark¬ 
ing from the rock, and it was frequently necessary for the safety of 
the men that they should wear them while at work. 

A similar landing-boat is still used. It is warped in by means of a 
line made fast to a buoy astern and two lines from the bow, the lat¬ 
ter being managed by men on the rock. The person who is to land 


62 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-ROUSES 


stands on the landing-deck forward, holding fast to the stout mast or 
stake, and when he is warned by the coxswain that the proper in¬ 
stant has arrived, he seizes the rope lowered from the derrick-boom 
on the landing-platform, places his foot in a loop at the end, and is 
quickly hauled up by the men at the winch on the rock. 

When the keepers are relieved it is sometimes impracticable to 
drop them into the boat; in such cases they are hauled to it through 
the surf. 

This light-house contains, exclusive of the platform, 44,500 cubic 
feet of granite, weighs 3,290 tons, and cost a little over $300,000. It 
is one of the most striking examples of light-house engineering of 
which the Eddystone furnishes the type. It was lighted for the first 
time on January 1 , 1870. 

The actual time snatched from the sea which the men could work 
is shown in the following table: — 


Year. 

No. of landings. 

Hours of work. 

18G2 

22 

83 

18G3 

39 

2061 

1864 

42 

2G7 

1865 

41 

256 

18G6 

31 

224 

1867 

40 

313J 

18G8 

30 

2764 

18G9 

21 

1941 

Total 

266 

Id/id 


MAPLIN SAND LIGHT-HOUSE. 

Mr. Alexander Mitchell, of England, invented the screw-pile for 
submerged sand-banks; it is described by him as a “ project for 
obtaining a much greater holding power than was possessed by any 
pile or mooring then in use ; the former being nothing more than a 
pointed stake of considerable size, easily either depressed in or 
extracted from the ground. . . . The plan which appeared best 
adapted for obtaining a firm hold of soft ground or sand was to 
insert, to a considerable distance beneath the surface, a bar of iron 
having at its lower extremity a broad plate or a disk of metal in 











MAP LIN SAND LI GILT-HOUSE. 63 

a spiral or a helical form, on the principle of the screw, in order 
that it should enter into the ground with facility; thrusting aside 
any obstacles to its descent, without materially disturbing the tex¬ 
ture of the strata it passed through, and that it should at the 


same time offer an extended base, either for resisting downward 
pressure or an upward strain.” 

In 1838, the inventor and his son built for the corporation of the 
Trinity House the foundation of the light-house on Maplin Sand, at 
the mouth of the Thames. This was the first screw-pile light-house, so 


































G4 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


far as the foundation was concerned, although the one at Fleetwood 
was actually completed before the Maplin. 

It is an hexagonal structure, with one central and eight exterior 
piles. The piles were driven vertically; but above the water-line 
they bend toward the centre, and incline in a pyramidal form to the 
lantern floor. The screws are four feet in diameter; the piles five 
inches, and they support cast-iron columns twelve inches in diameter, 
which are strongly braced. 

The principle of the screw-pile has been very largely used in light¬ 
house construction in the United States: it is specially applicable to 
inland waters, not exposed to very heavy seas, where the bottom is 
such that a screw-pile can be forced through it. In places where 
there is much running ice, it has been found advisable to protect 
these structures against the impact of the ice, either by a wall of rip¬ 
rap, or by ice-breakers detached from the foundation. 






























TEMPORARY BARRACK. 


SKERBYYOBE LIGHT-HOUSE. 
See page 45. 


Scale of Feet 


JO 


Bar rack Room- 
for H’itrkmeti 


Engineer & Foreman-'.* 
Apartment.* 


Iron 


Bate 


Scale of Feet 


Kitchen- & Provision, 
Store-. 


&'c 


Iron. 

foliar 


Tran 


Ventilating 

Lantern 










































































































































































































CHAPTER VL 


MINOT'S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE. 


Capt. W. H. Swift, U. S. Engineer’s, strongly impressed by the 
successful application of Mitchell’s mooring-screws to the forcing of 
iron posts into the sand as a framework to iron-skeleton light¬ 
houses, built the first work of the kind in the United States: an iron 
beacon at the entrance of Black Rock Harbor, Conn. He then 
designed and erected a more important structure. The following 
account is taken from his official report (ISTovember, 1848). 

“Minot’s Rocks—or as they are more generally called ‘The 
Minots,’—lie off the south-eastern chop of Boston Bay. These 
rocks or ledges, with others in their immediate vicinity, are also 
known as the ‘Cohasset Rocks,’ and have been the terror of mar¬ 
iners for a long period of years; they have been, probably, the cause 
of a greater number of wrecks than any other ledges or reefs upon 
the coast, lying as they do at the very entrance to the second city of 
the United States in point of tonnage, and consequently where ves¬ 
sels are constantly passing and repassing. The Minots are bare 
only at three-quarters ebb, and vessels bound in with the wind heavy 
at north-east, are liable, if they fall to the leeward of Boston light, to 
be driven upon these reefs. The rock selected for the site of the 
light-house is called the ‘ Outer Minot,’ and is the most seaward of 
the group. At extreme low water an area of about thirty feet in 
diameter is exposed, and the highest point in the rock is about three 
feet and a half above the line of low water. It is very rarely, how¬ 
ever, that a surface greater than twenty-five feet in diameter is left 


66 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


bare by the sea. The rock is granite, with vertical seams of trap 
rising through it. The form of the light-house is an octagon, twenty- 
five feet in diameter at the base. The structure is supported on 



l 


nine heavy wrought-iron piles, one at each corner of the octagon, 
and one at the centre; holes twelve inches in diameter, and five feet 
deep were drilled in the rock to receive these piles; the outer holes 
at such an inclination that at an elevation of sixty feet above the 







































































MINOT’S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE. 


67 


base of the middle pile, the pile-heads would be brought within the 
periphery of a circle fourteen feet in diameter. The centre pile 
was eight inches in diameter at the bottom, and six inches at top; 
the other piles have the same diameter, eight inches, at the bottom, 
and four-and-a-half inches at the top; at their upper ends they are 
securely keyed and bolted to the arms of a heavy casting or cap. 
It is understood that the foundation piles do not extend the whole 
sixty feet; but that there are in all three series of piles joined to 
each other by very stout cast-iron sockets and strongly braced.” 

In that exposed situation, where the sea was so constantly break¬ 
ing over the rock, the drilling of holes of the required size could only 
be done by machinery raised above the reach of the sea. This oper¬ 
ation consumed the greater part of two seasons. The erection of the 
tower was less difficult. The work commenced in 1847, was finished 
in November, 1848. Next year, in order to stiffen the piles, and to 
prevent in as great a degree as possible the tendency to vibration, 
there was introduced a series of wrought-iron vertical tie-rods between 
the first and second series of braces. It was intended to place an¬ 
other series of these ties between the foot of the piles at the rocks, 
and the first or lower series of horizontal braces. This structure 
was carried away in April, 1851. Captain Swift reported as follows: 
“On Monday night, April 14th, the wind, which had been easterly 
for several days, gradually increased. On Tuesday it had become a 
severe gale from the northeast. It continued to blow with the utmost 
violence through Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thursday, and even 
Friday; but the height of the storm was on Wednesday, the lGth, and 
at that time it was a perfect hurricane. 

“ The light on the Minot was last seen from Cohasset, on Wednes¬ 
day night at 10 o’clock; at 1 o’clock, Thursday morning the 17th, 
the light-house bell was heard on shore, one-and-one-half miles dis¬ 
tant; and this being the hour of high water, or .rather the turn of the 
tide, when from the opposition of the wind and the tide it is supposed 
that the sea was at its very highest mark; and it was at that hour, 
it is generally believed, that the light-house was destroyed; at day- 


68 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGIIT-IIOUSES. 


liodit nothing of it was visible from shore, and hence it is most prob* 

O O 

able it was overthrown at or about the hour named.” 

The appearance of the site when it was visited on April 22d, is 



shown in the sketch. A portion of the wreck of the structure was 
found one hundred feet from the site. 

The second series of horizontal braces was tliirty-eight-and-a-half 
feet above the rock. Captain Swift says: “ Upon these braces the 
keeper had improperly built a sort of deck or platform, upon which 
were placed heavy articles such as fuel, water-barrels, etc., which 
should have been in the store-room designed for their reception. The 

deck, in addition to the weight placed 
upon it, was fastened together and 
secured to the piles and braces, thus 
offerin']!; a large surface, against which 
the sea could strike. In addition to this, the keeper had attached 
a five-and-a-half-inch hawser to the lantern deck, and anchored the 
other end to a granite block, weighing, according to his account, 
seven tons, placed upon the bottom at a distance of some fifty 
fathoms from the base of the tower. The object of this was to pro¬ 
vide means for running a box or landing-cliair up and down; but it 
is very clear that so much surface exposed to the moving sea had 
the same effect upon the light-house as would have been produced by 
a number of men pulling at a rope attached to the highest part of 
the structure, with the design of pulling it down. ... At 4 o’clock 
on Wednesday afternoon, the lGth, or ten hours before the light fell, 
the platform above mentioned came ashore at Cohasset. As this was 











1 st Course 


Scale of Feet 

20 


40 


Course 


Engraved Tn IT S>JJL Johnston 

32 1 Course 


AUCTORITATE . ET . CONCILIIS 
PHARORUM . SCO T I A E . COLLEOtl 
H A SC*STRUCTA. FUIT. PHAROS 
CUJUS . OIRECTI . FLAMMA 
NAUTAE 

INFAMI8US.HIS. SCOPU LI S . AOHUC.MERITO.DETERRITI 
OPTATUM . P0RTUI5! . R'ECTIUS. AOVEHIRENT. 


JOANNES.DUX.DE .ARGYLL 
INSULARUM . AOJACENTIUM. DOMINUS. 
LAPIDEM . AUSPICALEM . RITE. STATU IT 
DIE. IV. MENSIS. J ULII. AN NO. IV. VICT. REG. 
M.D.C.C.C.X.L. 

0PERUM. MAGISTRO. AlANO. STEVENSON. LI.8. 


SKERRY YORE EIGHT. See page 47 



% 






















































































































































































































. 

. 

. 



































MINOT'S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE. 


69 


forty-tlir 3e feet above the line of low water, and twenty-eiglit feet 
above high water, spring tides, the sea had at that time reached within 
seven feet of the base of the store-room of the light-liouse. Without 
undertaking to speculate upon the probable shock that the structure 
must have received from the effect of the sea upon a platform fas¬ 
tened to the piles forty feet above the rock, it is enough to know 
that the sea had reached within seven feet of the body or solid part 
of the structure. Still increasing, it required but a slight increase in 
the height of the wave, after having reached the deck, to bring it in 
contact with the main body of the structure. When this took place it 
is plain to perceive that such a sea, acting upon the surface of the 
building at the end of a lever fifty or sixty feet long, must be well 
nigh irresistible, and I doubt not that the light-house was thus de¬ 
stroyed.” 

Two light-keepers were at the tower, and were involved in its 
destruction. So far as I know their bodies were never recovered. 

General J. G. Barnard, Corps of Engineers, in his comments on the 
destruction of this tower says : “ In this isolated case of the destruc¬ 
tion by wave-violence of a completed structure, there can be little 
doubt that the engineer’s conclusions are correct. The ‘ main body * 
(i. e. the keeper’s dwelling and store-rooms) should never be attaina¬ 
ble by waves; all appurtenances, such as scaffoldings (which keepers 
are so apt to make) and attached hawsers, should be prohibited. A 
further remark should be made, for in judging of this work it must 
be borne in mind that it was built at a time when the large grants 
of money necessary for great engineering works of light-house con¬ 
struction were with difficulty attainable from Congress, 1 at a date, 
too, when the newly-invented method of skeleton-iron construction 
for light-houses was still in its infancy. 

“ The real defect of the Minot iron tower was want of magnitude. 
It should have had at least a forty-foot base, and a height of one 
hundred feet. The keeper’s dwelling and storerooms could then 


* The Minot’s light-house cost less than $40,000. 



70 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES . 


have been placed beyond the reach of storm waves, the enlarged base 
affording requisite stability for the increased height. The limited sum 
at the disposal of the engineer forbade such dimensions. The diffi¬ 
culties of drilling the shaft-holes were, as we have seen, very great, 
even where the most available parts of the rock were chosen. The 
enlarged tower, which we now know to be necessary, would have cost 
three times the sum at the command of the engineer.” 

The importance and necessity to commerce and to life of a light at 
this point were so apparent that Congress promptly made an appro¬ 
priation for the purposes of relighting the Minot’s Ledge rocks, stip¬ 
ulating, however, that the tower should be erected on the outer Minot 
and charging the Topographical Bureau with its construction. This 
Bureau, after advertising for proposals, finally recommended, in view 
of the great difficulties in the way, and bearing in mind the awful 
fate of its predecessor, that one of the inner rocks should be selected 
as the site. While the matter was pending, the present Light-House 
Board was created (in 1852), and the whole subject was turned over 
to it. 

General G. J. Totten, Chief of Engineers, then a member of the 
Board, devised the project for the new structure; he advocated and 
designed a light-house to be erected on the original site. The plans 
were drawn under his directions and he selected for its execution 
Captain (afterwards General) Barton S. Alexander, Corps of En¬ 
gineers, an officer whose experience, skill, boldness and self-reliance 
eminently fitted him for this arduous task. Alexander thus described 
the difficulties of the work. 

“It was a more difficult work of construction than either the 
Eddystone, the Bell Bock, or the Skerryvore, for the Eddystone 
was founded all above low water, part of its foundation being 
up to high-water level. The foundation of Bell Bock was about 
three feet above low water, while the Skerryvore had its foun¬ 
dation above high-water level; whereas a good part of the Minot’s 
light was below low water. There had to be a combination of favor¬ 
able circumstances to enable us to land on the Minot rock at the be- 


MINOT'S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE. 


71 


ginning of tliat work: a perfectly smooth sea, a dead calm, and low 
spring tides. This could only happen about six times during any one 
lunation; three at full moon and three at the change. Frequently, 
one or the other of the necessary conditions would fail; and there 
were at times months, even in summer, when we could not land there 
at all. Our working season was from April 1 to September 15. Work 
was prosecuted with all possible diligence for more than three years 
before a single stone could be laid. The difficulty was to cut the 
foundation rock into the proper shape, and then to lay these stones.” 

Major Ogden, under the orders of the Board, made a careful topo¬ 
graphical survey of the rock, with the horizontal curves only three 
inches apart. The survey showed a plan of the rock at low water, 
with the curves where horizontal planes, passed three inches from 
each other vertically both above and below that level, would inter¬ 
sect the rock, these curves being projected on the rock. This survey 
showed that the highest point of the rock was three feet six inches 
above low water, and also that it would not be possible to obtain a 
tower of greater diameter than twenty-two feet without going outside 
the low-water limit, but by going outside this limit in five places, a 
diameter of thirty feet could be obtained. 

On the first of May, 1855, Captain Alexander first visited Minot’s 
Ledge; he found the stumps of the broken iron piles on the rock, 
and the wreck of the old light-house was visible under the water. 
It was difficult to stand on the rock, covered as it was with mus¬ 
sels and sea-weed; but he succeeded in remaining on it for about 
an hour, and in remeasuring it at dead low water, with the hope that 
he could get a few inches more than the thirty feet for the founda¬ 
tion ; but in this he was disappointed. 

Captain Alexander arrived at the following facts and conclusions : 
Landings, even in summer, could not be made for weeks at a time; 
parts of the ledge were always under water, and the remainder was 
only bare for three or four hours; the space was contracted, and 
during easterly weather the sea broke with such violence that no 
coffer-dam was possible. The cutting of the rock into shape would 


72 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


evidently be a long, tedious, troublesome and expensive operation, 
requiring incessant vigilance and the employment of a large party of 
skilled workmen with all the necessary tools and implements. To 
have engaged such a party and placed them on board vessels near 
the rock with instructions to work at every favorable opportunity 
would have been an easy matter ; but the men would have been idle 
nine-tenths of the time. Their discipline would become lax ; when 
wanted they would not be at their posts, and even if they had they 
could not have worked like men inured to daily labor. Their hands 
and muscles would soon have become soft, and they would shortly 
have been disqualified for the hard labor and exposure in store for 
them. 

A better plan was, therefore, to combine the operation of cutting 
down the rock with that of preparing the stone for the tower, and to 
have both done by the same party of workmen, who would thus have 
constant employment and full wages. To do this an establishment 
on shore was necessary, with wharf accommodations, store-rooms, 
work-shops and a stone-yard. In addition there were required the 
necessary vessels and boats; a gang of stone-cutters could then work 
on the ledge when sea, weather and tide would permit, and when 
these would not they would find full employment on shore cutting 
stone for the tower. A permanent scaffold on the ledge, not a bea¬ 
con-house, was considered essential. This was to be a structure of 
iron, to which the workmen could be secured to prevent their being 
washed from the rock, and would afford temporary security in case 
of accident to boats or vessels. It would also answer the purpose of 
a derrick for laying the lower courses of masonry in the tower, and 
its legs, being enclosed in the masonry, would be so many huge bolts 
to secure it to the rock. These ideas were embodied in a report to 
the Board dated May 31, 1855, and were approved. 

On the 20tli of June a few men were employed to loosen the 
wedges around the stumps of the old iron piles, and to remove the 
mussels from the ledge, which was accomplished in a few days. 

The first landing for cutting down the rock was made at daylight 






See page 54 
























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































MINOT’S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE. 


73 


on Sunday, July 1, 1855. But a small party of men were employed, 
and the first season’s work was confined to marking points of the 
various levels which were to be cut away, to cutting level spaces 
around the rock upon which the workmen could stand and upon 
which tools could be placed in comparative safety, and in general to 
laying out work for a larger party the next year. 

During the year 1855 there were one hundred and thirty hours’ 
work on the rock. During the season of 1856 the iron scaffold pre¬ 
viously mentioned was erected. It consisted of nine wrought-iron 
shafts inserted into the holes of the old iron light-liousc, and rising 
to a height of twenty feet above low water, the whole bound together 
at the top by a strong wrought-iron frame ; these shafts were ten 
inches in diameter at the bottom and seven inches at the top. It 
reave <ercat confidence to new hands. By stretching lines between 
the posts across the rock in various directions, and about two or three 
feet above it, every workman had something within easy reach to lav 
hold of when a wave broke over the rock. 

This year and nearly the whole of the next was consumed in cut¬ 
ting the rock to receive the masonry : the foundation pit was nearly 
completed, and in 1857 four stones of tlmfoundation were laid. On 
the nineteenth of January, 1857, the bark “New Empire ,” loaded 
with cotton, was thrown against the scaffold and swept it from the 
rock, breaking off the iron posts very much as those of the iron 
liglit-house had broken when it was carried away, and shattering the 
top of the rock in some places so that a portion of the work of the 
preceding year had to be done over again ; in 1856 and ’57 the work 
on the rock was one hundred and fifty-seven and one hundred and 
thirty hours respectively. 

Although a permanent coffer-dam about this rock was impractica¬ 
ble, temporary coffer-dams around small portions of the rock were 
of great use, both in completing the foundation-pit and in laying the 
lower stones of the structure. These coffer-dams were made of sand¬ 
bags similar to those used in building sand-bag batteries. The bags 
were about half filled with sand and, being made of heavy cotton 


74 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


duck, were practically water-tight. They were easily handled. Two 
or three hundred of these bags built up, at low water, around the 
small portion of the foundation-pit which it was desired to finish, or 
where a stone was to be laid in mortar, would keep out the water for 
fully half an hour if the sea was very smooth; the water in the little 
pits thus made was then bailed out and by means of large sponges 
was kept nearly dry. These dams required but a few moments in 
construction, and, as they were easily removed, they were inexpen¬ 
sive. They enabled the engineers to see that the work was properly 
done, that the foundation was properly completed, that the wooden 
patterns for the lower stones were correct, and that the lower stones 
were laid in a bed of mortar properly spread on its foundation. 

Nearly all the stones were thus laid. The lowest stone, laid July 
11, 1858, and some others, had to be laid in water. The method for 
securing a bed of mortar under these stones was as follows: A large 
piece of thin muslin was spread on the platform and a layer of mor¬ 
tar of the required thickness was then spread over it; the stone was 
then laid on this bed of mortar, the vertical joints of the stone were 
then plastered with mortar and the cloth was folded up and laid 
smooth against these vertical joints,'cutting away its superfluous 
parts. After remaining five or ten minutes the mortar would begin 
to set so that it and the cloth would adhere to the stone. The stone 
was then laid in its envelope which protected the mortar from the 
dissolving action of the water, while it was being lowered into posi¬ 
tion. 

Previous experiments on shore on stone cemented together in this 
way under water, showed that the mortar would ooze through the 
cloth and make a good bond to the stone below. 

All the lower courses of stone were laid from an iron mast which 
was setup in the central hole of the former light-house. The maeliin- 
( i a and i ui 0 \\ i completed the derrick had to be put on and 
taken off every day that landings were made for lavino- masonry. It 
was of simple construction and so arranged as to float in the water, 
so that all that had to be done in “ stripping the derrick ” after a 


MINOT'S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE. 


75 


tide’s work was over, was to cast tlie machinery loose from the mast 
and throw it, with the attached rigging, overboard ; it could then be 
towed to the tender. 

The mortar used throughout the work was the best quality of pure 
Portland cement; no lime nor sand was used. 

The sketches show how the stone was landed on the rock at differ¬ 
ent stages of the work. 

During 1858 the foundation-pit was finished and the masonry 
carried up to the sixth course inclusive ; this took two hundred and 



eight working-hours. In 1859 the tower was finished to the top of 
the thirty-second course, sixty-two feet above low water, in three hun¬ 
dred and seventy-seven working-hours ; and in 1SC0 the tower was 
completed, the last stone being laid on the twenty-ninth cf June, just 
five years, lacking one day, from the time the workmen landed on 
the ledge. 

Xo life was lost nor was any one seriously injured during the build¬ 
ing of the light-house. 

The following were the principal regulations for the safety of the 





























































































7 G 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-IIOUSES. 


workmen while cutting-down the ledge and laying the masonry of 
the foundation : 

1. Xo person should be employed on the work who could not swim, 
or who could not pull an oar and manage a small boat. 

2. Xo landing should be attempted on the rock from one boat; 
there must always be, at least, two boats. 

3. While the workmen were on the ledge, a small boat, with at 
least three men in it, should be stationed immediately alongside the 



rock, on its lee side, to pick up the men who were occasionally 
washed from the rock. 

After the destruction of the scaffold which had been erected on 
the ledge, a new one was prepared similar to the first, but it was 
never erected as a scaffold. The eight outer posts, however, were 
inserted in the eight outer holes of the former light-house, after the 
masonry of the tower had been carried up to the tenth course, the 
spaces around the posts being filled with a grout of Portland cement. 
They are supposed to give additional strength to the tower, holding 
it more securely to its rock foundation. 























































































MINOT’S LEDGE LIGHT-HOUSE. 


77 


The light was exhibited for the first time at sunset, November 15, 
18G0. The cost of the light-house and of the keeper’s dwellings on 
shore, was $300,000. 

The structure is solid, around a central well up to the level of the 
entrance door. Above that there is a hollow cylindrical space, four¬ 
teen feet in diameter, arched over at the level of the cornice; tlds 
space is divided into five stories by four iron lloors ; these five com¬ 
partments and a sixth immediately under the lantern constitute the 
keeper’s rooms, store-rooms, etc. 

The shaft is purely conical, the limited bottom area forbidding the 
expansion required for the tree-like spread to the base, usual in 
European sea-rock light-houses, which is now believed to be a useless 
expense and founded on a false analogy. 

The following tables may be useful for reference : 


Year. 

1855. Excavating foundation-pit, 
1850. 

1857. “ “ “ 

1858. 

1859. Laying 26 courses, 

Number of tons rough stone, 

“ hammered stone, 
Number of stones in light-house, 


Working-hours. 

180 

157 

and laying 4 stones, 130.21 m. 

and laying 6 courses, 208 

377 

3514 
2367 
1079 

114 ft. 1 in. 
96 ft. 1 in. 
84 ft. 7 in. 
30 ft. 

23 ft. 6 in. 


Height from bottom of lowest stone to top of pinnacle, 
Height of focal plane above lowest point, 

“ “ “ “ mean high water, 

Diameter of third, or first full course, 

“ top of 22d course (solid part), 


(See Appendix A.) 



CHAPTER VII. 


SPECTACLE REEF LIGHT-HOUSE. 

K- * 

There is but one other light-house in the United States of the 
same type as Minot’s. This one is situated on Spectacle Reef. 
Lake Huron, and is not properly a sea-rock light-house, as the 
destructive agencies to which it is exposed are not sea-waves, but 
chiefly ice-packs. 

It stands on a reef at the northern end of Lake Huron, off the 
eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac. There are two shoals of 
limestone rock in situ , covered with boulders so situated with respect 
to each other as to resemble a pair of spectacles. The light-house 
stands on the southerly end of the most northerly' shoal. 

In 1868 the Light-house Board recommended an appropriation to 
erect this light, estimating the cost to be about $300,000. The wreck 
of two vessels at one time, the preceding fall, ga\ r e emphasis to its 
necessity, as these wrecks involved the loss of a sum greater than 
that necessary to mark this danger. An appropriation of $100,000 
was granted to commence the work, and next year an additional sum 
of $100,000 was appropriated. 

An examination of the site showed that the least depth of yvater on 
the shoals was about seven feet, and at the locality selected for the 
light-house, rock yvas found at a depth of eleven feet. 

The nearest land is Bois Blanc Island, about eleven miles distant. 
A depot for this work yvas established at Scammon’s Harbor, in Les 
Cheneaux, sixteen miles from the site. 

The greatest exposure to waves is from the southeast, the sea 


SPECTACLE REEF LIGHT-HOUSE. 


79 


having a fetch of about one hundred and seventy miles. Their force, 
however, is not so great as to require any great precautions to in¬ 
sure stability. But at times currents are developed here having a 
velocity of from two to three miles per hour, and during the winter 
season serve to move to and fro ice-fields two feet thick and thou¬ 
sands of acres in extent. This ice, formed in fresh water, is of ex¬ 
treme solidity, and when in motion has a living force which is almost 
irresistible. The object was, therefore, to oppose to it a structure 
against which the ice would first be crushed, and then its motion so 
impeded as to cause it to ground upon the shoal itself, thus forming 
a barrier against subsequent action. 

To give some idea of the necessity for this, it may be mentioned 
that in the spring of 1875, when the keepers returned to the station, 
the light being discontinued during the winter months, they found 
the ice piled up against the light-house, seven feet above the sill of 
the door-way, which is twenty-three feet above the lake, and they 
were only able to obtain entrance to the house by cutting their way 
through the ice. 

The plan contemplated building first a crib-work or “ protection 
pier,” with a large central opening, in which was to be placed a cof¬ 
fer-dam. The water was then to be pumped from the coffer-dam, 
the rock levelled, to prepare it for the foundation of the liglit-house, 
and then the light-house was to be built of stone, carefully cut and 
strongly fastened together. 

The protection pier was built at Scammon’s Harbor during 1870- 
71. In the former year a careful survey was again made at the site, 
when it was discovered that the hull of the schooner Nightingale, 
wrecked the preceding fall, covered, with her cargo of iron ore, a 
good portion of the bed of rock on which the tower was to stand. 
As there was no other place on the reef where bare bed-rock could be 
found, except in eighteen feet of Avater, it was necessary to remove 
that portion of the wreck covering the area required for the coffer-dam. 

It Avas intended to build the light-house of granite, but the con¬ 
tractor utterly failed to furnish this stone. Limestone from Marble- 


80 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


head, Ohio, was therefore purchased in sufficient quantity to continue 
the work. The coffer-dam was framed at Detroit, Mich., during the 
winter, and was taken to Scammon’s Harbor on the opening of navi¬ 
gation of 1871, to be in readiness for use as soon as the crib should 
be placed in position. 

The original intention was to put this crib in position in four sec¬ 
tions, but upon further consideration it was decided to attempt plac¬ 
ing it as a whole upon the reef. This was successfully accomplished 
as follows: four temporary cribs, each fifteen by twenty-five feet, of 
round timber, were placed in from eight to ten feet of water, in a 
line corresponding with the proposed eastern face of the pier of pro¬ 
tection, and lilled to the level of the water with ballast-stone. They 
were then connected together and decked over. On this deck were 
placed about seventy cords of ballast-stone, ready at the proper time 
to be thrown into the pier of protection. The two lower courses of 
this pier, fastened together with screw-bolts, forming a raft, were 
towed to the site and moored directly over the position to be occu¬ 
pied by the finished pier. Its position was marked upon the tempo¬ 
rary pier mentioned above, and soundings taken at intervals of two 
feet along each timber in the raft, thus obtaining accurate contours 
of the surface of the reef within the limit of those timbers. The 
raft was then towed back to the harbor, hauled out upon ways, and 
by means of wedges of timber the bottom was made to conform to 
the surface of the reef. The raft, now become the bottom of the 
pier of protection, was then launched and additional courses of tim¬ 
ber added, until its draught of water was just sufficient to permit its 
being floated into position on the reef. 

Meanwhile five barges at the harbor had been loaded with ballast- 
stone, making, with that at the temporary pier, 290 cords (about 
1800 tons) at command, with which to load the pier of protection and 
secure it to the reef, as soon as it should be placed in position. 

This crib was ninety-two feet square, and between eleven and twelve 
feet high, with a central opening forty-eight feet square. It thus oc¬ 
cupied a space nearly a quarter of an acre in extent. 


19 


i 



SPHERICAL MO?R! 


SPHER 


STONE BARCE-\Y 


STONE BARCE 




(FOUNDATION.) 


WOLF ROCK 


See page 59 













































SPECTACLE REEF LIGHT-HOUSE . 


81 


On the evening of the 18th July, 1871, everything being in readi¬ 
ness, and the wind, which had previously been blowing freshly from 
the north-west for three days, having somewhat moderated, at 8 
p. M. two tugs took hold of the immense crib, and started to tow it 
to the reef, fifteen miles distant, followed by the fleet of stone 
barges. The construction-scow, with tools, etc., on board, was towed 
with the crib. At 2 A. M., next day, the fleet liove-to off the reef, await¬ 
ing daylight, and the abatement of the wind, which had again fresh¬ 
ened up. At half-past six, it having moderated, the pier was placed 
in position, with considerable difficulty, and after being secured to 
the temporary pier, and to moorings previously set for it, all hands 
went to work, and by 4 p. m. had succeeded in throwing 1200 tons of 
stone into the compartments. 

By this time the wind had so increased that the rising sea made it 
necessary to stop work, but early next morning the rest of the re¬ 
serve stone was put into the compartments. 

. After the pier was in position, a schooner was moored on the reef, 
to serve as temporary quarters for the workmen, who proceeded at 
once to build up the pier to the required height, twelve feet above 
water. More stone was brought, and by the 12th of September the pier 
reached its full height, and, by the 20th, quarters for the workmen 
were built upon it, when the schooner was discharged. A diver was 
then employed to clear off the bed-rock within the opening of the 
pier, and the coffer-dam was commenced. 

This coffer-dam consisted of a hollow cylinder, forty-one feet in 
diameter, composed of wooden staves, each four by six inches, and 
fifteen feet long ; it was braced and trussed internally, and hooped 
with iron externally to give it the requisite strength. It was put 
together at the surface of the water, and, when complete, was low¬ 
ered to its position by means of iron screws. 

As soon as it rested on the rock, whose contour was quite irregu¬ 
lar, each stave was driven down to fit as closely as possible, and a 
diver then filled with Portland cement all the openings between its 
lower end and the rock. A loosely-twisted rope of oakum was then 


82 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


pressed closely down outside the lower end of the coffer-dam, and 
outside this a larger rope made of hay. 

The pumping-machinery having been got ready in the meanwhile, 
the coffer-dam was pumped dry, and on the same day, October 14, 
a force of stone-cutters descended to the bottom and commenced the 
work of levelling-off the bed-rock so as to prepare it for the first 
course of masonry. 

The rock sloped from the west to the east, and, in order to make 
a level bed, it was necessary to cut down about two feet on the high¬ 
est side, involving a large amount of hard labor, and rendered still 
more difficult by the water forcing its way up through the seams in 
the rock. This work was finally accomplished, as much care being 
taken to cut and level the bed as with any of the masonry courses. 
The first course of masonry was set and completed October 27. 
The water forcing its way through the seams gave much trouble as 
it disturbed the mortar; for this reason water was let into the dam 
every evening and pumped out in the morning, to give tlio mortar 
time to harden during the night. The mortar was composed of 
equal parts of Portland cement and screened silicious sand, and 
became as hard, or harder, than the bed-rock or the stone of which 
the tower was built. 

As the weather now became boisterous, frequent snow - squalls 
interfering with the work, it Avas determined to close operations for 
the season, so everything was put in safety for the winter, and by 
the end of October all the men had left the rock except two, who 
were left to tend the fog-signal and the fourth-order light, which had 
been erected on the men’s quarters; they were taken off at the close 
of navigation. 

The degree of success of this model colfer-dam may be inferred 
from the fact that, though provided with pumps having an aggregate 
capacity of 5,000 gallons per minute, not more than a capacity of 
700 gallons was used, except when emptying the coffer-dam, and 
then only to expedite the work ; once emptied, a small proportion of 
this capacity was ample to keep the coffer-dam free from water, and 


SPECTACLE BEEF LIGHT-HOUSE . 


83 


this at a depth of twelve feet of water, on rock, at a distance of 
eleven miles from the nearest land. Every one connected with this 
work may well feel a just pride in its success. 

The following season opened a month later, so work was not re¬ 
sumed at the harbor until the 3d of May, 1872, and upon the reef on 
the 20tli of the same month. On May 13 the ice was a compact 
mass of some feet in thickness, and masses of ice lay on top of the 
pier itself. As soon as possible the ice was cleared away, and the 
work of setting the additional courses began. 

By the close of the season the work had been carried to the seven¬ 
teenth course inclusive, completing the solid portion of the tower. 
In September there was a violent storm, and the following account 
will give some idea of its violence and the damage done: 

“ The sea burst in the doors and windows of the workmen's quar¬ 
ters, tore up the floors and all the bunks on the side nearest the 
edge of the pier and the platform between the quarters and the pier. 
Everything in the quarters was completely demolished except the 
kitchen, which remained serviceable. The lens, located on top of 
the quarters was found intact, but out of level. Several timbers on 
the east side of the crib were driven in some four inches, and the 
temporary cribs were completely swept away. The north side was 
so completely filled up that the steamer can no longer lie there. A 
stone weighing thirty pounds was thrown across the pier; but the 
greatest feat accomplished by the gale was the moving of the revolv¬ 
ing derrick from the northeast to the southwest corner. At three 
o’clock in the morning the men were obliged to run for their lives, 
and the only shelter they found was on the west side of the tower. 
The sea finally moderated sufficiently to allow them to seek refuge 
in the small cement shanty standing near the southeast corner of the 
crib. Many lost their clothing.” 

During the following winter the workmen’s quarters, from which 
the light had been exhibited, was carried away by the ice, and 
together with the lantern was totally destroyed. This was not unex- 
pected, and in view of the probable result, the lens had been re 


84 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGIIT-HOUSES. 


moved and stored in a place of safety. The fog-signal was uninjured 
and was sounded whenever required. Work was continued during 
the working-seasons of 1873-4, and the light was exhibited for the 
first time on the night of June 1, 1874. 

The exterior of the tower is a frustum of a cone, thirty-two feet 
in diameter at the base and eighteen feet at the spring of the cor¬ 
nice, eighty feet above the base. The cornice is six feet high and 
the parapet seven feet. The focal plane is four feet three inches 
above the parapet. Hence the entire height of the masonry above 
the base is ninety-three feet, and of the focal plane ninety-seven feet 
three inches. 

The tower is solid to a height of thirty-four feet; above this it is 
hollow, and divided into five stories, each fourteen feet in diameter. 
The walls of the hollow portion start with a thickness of five feet 
six and threc-tentlis inches, and are eighteen inches thick at the 
spring of the cornice. The whole interior is lined with a brick wall 
four inches thick, separated from the outer wall by an air-space of 
two inches. All stones below the cornice hav^ a uniform thickness of 
two feet. All sashes, shutters, and doors are made to open outward, 
which admits of such an arrangement of the rabbets as to effectually 
prevent the entrance of water at the window and door openings. 

The stones in the solid portion are cut to form, in the simplest 
manner, a most complete lock upon each other in each course, and 
the several courses are bolted to each other with wrought-iron bolts 
two and one-half inches in diameter and two feet long. The lower 
course is bolted to the rock with bolts three feet in length, which 
penetrate the rock to a depth of twenty-one inches. All the bolts 
are wedged at each end with conical wedges, and all bolt-holes are 
filled solidly with pure Portland-cement mortar. 

Above the solid portion no bolts are used except in the first course, 
but on the build of each course a ribbon has been cut, fitting into a 
corresponding recess in the course above. 

The reader will notice the similiarity of the “bond ” in this tower 
to that used at Minot’s Ledge. 


SPECTACLE REEF LIGHT-HOUSE . 


85 


Deducting the time while work was suspended for the winter, and 
that consumed in giving notice to mariners, the aggregate working- 
time was twenty-four months, but as at least two week’s time 
was lost at the beginning and end of each season getting ready for 
and in securing the work, the actual available time did not exceed 
twenty months. 

The total cost, including the steamer and appliances of every 
kind was, in round numbers S3 75,000. 

The crib and coffer-dam were designed by Col. and Bvt. Brig.- 
Genl. W. F. Baynolds, and the tower by Lt. Col. and Bvt. Brig.-Genl. 
0. M. Poe, both of the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army. 
The latter officer had charge of the difficult part of the work until 
the foundation -was brought above water. The tower was completed 
by Maj. and Bvt.-Brig.-Gen. Godfrey Weitzel, Corps of Engineers, 
since deceased. Any account of Spectacle Beef Light-House should 
give much credit to Mr. Anthony L. Ederle who was the Superin¬ 
tendent of Construction from the beginning until the completion of 
all work of any difficulty. 

The construction-pier, which has been repaired from time to time, 
is still standing, and is most useful as a landing-place and a site for 
the steam fog-whistles. 

Of late years, however, it has become much deteriorated and is 
beyond economical repair ; next summer the Light-house Board will 
probably build an iron caisson filled with concrete adjacent to the 
tower, to form a foundation for the fog-signal apparatus, after which 
it will be a matter of little moment whether the construction-pier is 
destroyed or not. 

The sea-rock light-houses of the world are few in number; the 
following is a list of all, including those already described: Eddy- 
stone; Bell Rock; Bishop Rock (1853), off the Scilly Islands; the 
Small’s Rocks, entrance to the British Channel; JIanois Rocks 
(18G2), Island of Alderney; Barges d’Olonne (18G1), west coast of 
France; Wolf Rock (1869), off Land’s End, England; Alguada 


8G 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


Reef (18G5), Bay of Bengal; Great and Little Basses Light, off the 
coast of Ceylon; Minot’s Ledge, Boston, and Spectacle Reef, Lake 
Huron. 

The examples selected show sufficiently well the various difficulties 
and dangers attending this class of work, and how they were over¬ 



come in each case; so it is not considered necessary to give detailed 
descriptions of every work of this kind. 

Though the above are all the sea-rock light-houses properly so 
called, there are many light-liouses in this and other countries 
which arc built upon isolated rocks in the sea, yet these rocks are 
sufficiently above the surface of the sea, to afford a moderately safe 
base of operations when a landing has once been effected upon them. 
Among these latter may be mentioned John of Unst’s House, or 
“ North Unst.” The erection of this tower, finished in 1854, though 
not offering difficulties comparable to those at the sea-rock light¬ 
houses described, yet was a work of much interest. As shown in 
the sketch it is rooted upon an isolated rock, near the Shetland 
Islands, called Muckle Flagga; the tower is sixty-four feet high, 


































JOHN OF UNST’S HOUSE. 87 

and the light is two hundred and thirty feet above high water, and 
can be seen twenty-one miles away. 

The north face which is perpendicular, is exposed to the full fury 
of the ocean; while the south face, though less abrupt, is extremely 
difficult of ascent; the summit is just large enough for the founda¬ 
tions of the tower which contains the lantern-room, bed-room, kitch¬ 
en and office. At its base is the store-room for oil, coal and water. 

Landings are only possible in fine weather. There are four keep¬ 
ers, those not on duty live on the Island of Unst, about four miles 
from the light. 













CHAPTER Vm. 


TILLAMOOK ROCK. 



On June 20, 1878, Congress appropriated $50,000 for building a 
light-house on Tillamook Head, and on June 16, 1880, appropriated 
$5,000 more for continuing the work. On March 3, 1881, there was 
appropriated $25,000 for completing the work on the rock of Tillamook. 
There were many reasons for this change : the Head is inaccessible 
by sea, so that a road about twenty miles long would have to be built 
and maintained through an unknown and difficult country; the crest 
is too high above the sea for a light to be visible during fo^y 
weather; and there is no natural bench or lower level where the 
light could be placed, which would not be endangered by land-slides. 

Maj. G. L. Gillespie, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., Brevet Lieut. 
Col., was then in charge of this work, and in June, 1879, he 
made an inspection of the rock from the deck of a light-house ten¬ 
der, the sea being too rough to permit a landing; he reported as 
follows to the Light-House Board : 

























20 



D E 



TAILS 

** ?. f . t 


OF 0 0 V 

Scale,'/i Inch - lfoot. 

—I - 1 _ l— 



J_ i »"• 




WOEF ROCK RIGHT. 
(SECTION AND CHART.) 


of Season 186 % 


Set above thi# levtfl with Crane 0 
ITpigiiutj by Steqm*. - 


Set to tin's levtb with Crane. 
Jtoistin q ,/mie f>y tum/L. 


End of Season 1961 


Set to this 'level with Crune A 

by hand . 


of Season W€6. 


UFTINC AND SETTINC GEAR. 


End. of 8 o* teem 1666. 

- -End of Season 16€+y 


See page 6 i 


Scale., y## Inch— 1 Foot. 













































































































TILLAMOOK LIGHT-HOUSE. 


89 


“ I was enabled, however, to approach sufficiently near to become 
convinced that the rock is large enough, and the only suitable place 
for the light. To be efficient, the light should be exhibited as low 
as it is safe to have it; the headland is entirely too high, even on the 
lowest bench, and if located ashore, a costly road must be built. 
Though I could not make a landing, I am of the opinion that it is 
practicable to use the rock for a light station, and am desirous of 
being allowed to make the attempt.” 

As will be seen farther on, the great difficulty was in effecting a 
landing on this rock, around which the sea is almost constantly boil¬ 
ing and surging even in moderate weather. 

In June, 1879, Mr. II. S. Wheeler, superintendent of construction, 
went to the rock, and succeeded in landing two men, but they were 
unable to do anything, as the sea commenced to rise, so fearing that 
they would be separated from their companions, they jumped into 
the sea, and were rescued by life-lines. On the 25th of the same 
month, Mr. Wheeler made another attempt which was more success¬ 
ful, as he succeeded in landing in person, and by means of a tape- 
line, taking measurements of the most important dimensions. 

The plan for the buildings and the course to be pursued in adapt¬ 
ing them to the rock was, in general, the occupancy of the rock 
by a small working force, well supplied with provisions and tools 
for a stay of four or five months, with instructions to first pre¬ 
pare quarters for themselves, and then to reduce the summit of the 
rock by blasting until a level was reached, above the destructive 
action of the sea, sufficiently large to contain all the necessary build¬ 
ings. 

While this work was going on, it was proposed that all the various 
appliances, such as derricks, engines, etc., should be got ready and 
sent to the rock as rapidly as possible, and that all the stone should 
be quarried, dressed to dimension, and shipped to Astoria ready for 
use, together with all other needed material, such as cement, sand, 
brick, etc. 

Before any work was definitely ordered to be begun, it was ncccssan. 


90 ANCIENT AND MODERN LWIIT-IIOUSES 


that the rock should be carefully surveyed by a competent person, so 
that the proper places for the quarters, derricks and engines could be 
selected, the size of the force be determined, and other useful data 
collected. 

Mr. John R. Trewavas, a master-mason of Portland, Oregon, was 
selected for this work. He had at one time been employed upon the 
construction of Wolf Rock, England, and was a most capable man. 
lie attempted to land on the 18th of September, and he, with a sailor 
named Cherry, had succeeded in reaching the eastern slope of the 
rock ; as Trewavas stepped on the wet slope he slipped and fell and 
was almost instantly swept off by a receding wave. The sailor jumped 
into the sea and made a gallant attempt to rescue him, and the boat’s 
crew, with life-lines, rowed quickly to the spot where he was strug¬ 
gling, but the poor fellow was drawn under by the undertow and his 
body was never recovered. This unfortunate accident prejudiced 
the public against the work, and it became necessary to act with 
vigor before the public mind became so saturated with the idea of 
danger that it would be impossible to obtain labor. In this emergency 
Mr. A. Ballantyne was appointed superintendent, with orders to or¬ 
ganize a party of eight or nine skilled quarrymen, to make a lodg¬ 
ment on the rock, to prepare comfortable quarters, and to proceed at 
once to reduce the crest to the level previously adopted. 

On the 21st of October four men were successfully landed, with 
their tools, provisions, supplies, and an abundant supply of canvas to 
form temporary shelter. Five days later the rest of the men, addi¬ 
tional supplies, and a small derrick were placed on the rock, and this 
may be considered the date of the commencement of the work. 

The building of this light was dependent upon the occupancy of 
the rock and the erection of appliances for making the landings with 
safety and despatch, it is proper, therefore, to note the successive 
steps which led to the successful completion of the plans and to prop¬ 
erly understand the various operations, it is necessary to give a de¬ 
scription of the rock and its surroundings, and also of the manner in 
which the landings were effected. 


TILLAMOOK LIGHT-HOUSE. 


91 


Tillamook Rock is a bold, basaltic rock, standing isolated in the 
Pacific Ocean, about a mile off Tillamook Head, and twenty miles 
south of the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon. The water on 
the west, north and east sides is from one hundred and fifty to two 
hundred and forty feet deep, but shoals to ninety-six and one hun¬ 
dred and four feet on the south side, over a limited area. Mid wav 
between it and the Head is a small rock, awash at low water, upon 
which the sea breaks heavily during storms. As it rises from the sea 
the face of the rock is somewhat precipitous on the west side for the 
first fifteen feet and then breaks back under a gentle but very irregu¬ 
lar slope for a short distance, forming a narrow bench on part of the 
south face, and all of the west and north faces. As it springs from 
this bench it takes a remarkable form; it rises to a height of eighty 
feet, terminates in a rounded knob, resembling the burl of a tree, and 
overhangs the sea. The south side is bounded by a deep fissure 
dividing the rock into two unequal parts. This fissure is about 
twenty-five feet wide, and, starting on the sea-face, near the water- 
level, rises on an incline to thirty feet above the sea, where it is ab¬ 
ruptly closed by a natural wall forming part of the east slope; into 
this fissure the waves break violently during storms, throwing their 
spray to the very top of the rock, and at times leaping over the re¬ 
sisting wall, sweep down the opposite slope. 

The detached portion of the rock on the south side of the fissure 
is a narrow spine, whose surface is rendered very irregular and rugged 
by scales of rock resting against its sides, and by sharply-pointed 
needles projecting above its surface. r>eforo the crest of the princi¬ 
pal portion of the rock was disturbed it was exceedingly irregular in 
shape and measured only about one hundred square feet. Little 
needles projected everywhere, forming narrow and deep crevices, 
in and through which, extending some distance down the east slope, 
was a mass of various-sized cubical blocks, from three to twelve inches 
on a side, cemented together with a tough and unyielding matrix, 
the original columnar formation having been destroyed and these 
being the remains. 


92 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


The earliest records show that this rock has been a favorite resort 
for thousands of sea lions — a large species of seal, valuable only for 
oil — which, before the work commenced, completely covered the 
slopes and even the summit of the rock. At first they were quite 
hostile and disposed to discuss with the workmen the ownership of 
the rock, but eventually retired to rocky resorts farther to the south- 
ward. 

As has been shown, it was both difficult and dangerous to land on 
the rock ; it was equally so to leave it in a small boat, as there is no 
harbor within twenty miles where a landing could be made with 
safety ; no light-keeper would ever attempt to row ashore unless he 
were a skilled boatman and was driven by an urgent necessity. 

The first landing was, of necessity, from a boat, but this involved 
so many dangers to life that a plan of procedure was adopted which 
would restrict the dangers encountered to the smallest number of 
men practicable. When the four men landed, on the 21st October, 
the revenue cutter, which brought them, moored to the spar buoy — 
previously placed about three hundred feet from the rock. The 
surf-boat, which had landed the men, returned to the cutter and re¬ 
ceived the end of a four-and-one-half-inch rope which had previously 
been made fast to the mast of the vessel, and carried it to the rock. 
The outer end was then run up the slope and wound round a pro¬ 
jecting ledge eiglity-fivc feet above the sea, and drawn taut from the 
vessel. This main line, which is called the “ cable ” was ri<™;ed with 
a large single block, called the “ traveller,” which moved freely along 
it and carried a large projecting hook underneath, and two fixed 
blocks, one at the vessel the other at the rock. The traveller 
was designed to be hauled back and forth along the cable, from the 
deck of the vessel, by an endless line made fast to the hook of the 
traveller, one branch going direct to the vessel from the hook, and 
the other returning after passing through the block at the rock. The 
object of the traveller was to furnish means for transferring men and 
supplies from the vessel to the rock with facility and security, if not 
with comfort; the articles subject to injury from water were enclosed 


TILLAMOOK LIGHT-HOUSE. 


93 


in tight casks slung from the hook attached to the traveller; by 
hauling on the lower and easing off on the upper line the traveller 
could be drawn from the vessel to the rock; by reversing the process 
the traveller would return. The men were transported by an arrange¬ 
ment known as the “ breeches-buoy ” consisting of an ordinary circu¬ 
lar life-preserver, slung from the traveller, to which were securely 
lashed a pair of stout breeches cut off at the knees; the latter would 
support the man right side up while in the air, and the former would 
keep him afloat should he fall in the water. After the buoy was 
attached to the traveller the man would take his position in it fac¬ 
ing the rock, and be hauled out in the usual way. The plate shows 
the details of the operation. It was never possible to keep the cable 
taut as the vessel was in constant motion, sometimes very violent; 
for this reason the traveller ran, at times, very close to the surface 
of the sea, and it was not unusual to have the passenger or the pack¬ 
age dip under several times while making this very unattractive 
“ rapid transit.” 

As soon as the necessary men, tools, etc., were landed, the vigorous 
prosecution of the work depended upon fair weather alone. The 
first fifteen days were devoted to providing shelter for themselves 
and supplies. There were no caves nor recesses in which they could 
take refuge, so the only shelter which could be obtained against the 
driving rains was by cutting up the canvas into A-tents, which were 
held down by rope-lashings made fast into ring-bolts in the rock. In 
a short while a bench was levelled in a retired spot on the south side 
near the ninety-foot level on which it was intended to place a frame 
house for sleeping-quarters; but the attempt had to be abandoned 
as it was soon found that the site selected was subject to be deluged 
by the waves which broke in the fissure ; so the quarters were located 
on the north side. As soon as they were completed a site for the 
main derrick was levelled near by. A rude pathway was excavated 
from the landing at the thirty-foot level to the quarters, and a bench 
was commenced at the ninety-foot level, to be carried around the 
rock. This was necessary as the crest was so irregular and narrov? 


94 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES . 


that but few men could work on it in concert, and was, moreover, so 
wind-swept that it was dangerous to remain on it during a gale. 

The outer surface of the rock was covered with thin scales, and 
could be readily removed with moderate charges of black powder. 
The nucleus was very firm and tough ; black powder made but little 
impression on it; but by opening the mass with giant-cartridges and 
then using large charges of black powder the rock was blasted with 
better success. 

The hardy little party of quarrymen, notwithstanding their con¬ 
stant exposure to danger and the discomforts of their rude quarters, 
worked diligently all winter without complaint, and by May 1 the rock 
had been reduced in height about thirty feet by the removal of four 
thousand six hundred and thirty cubic yards of solid rock. 

Early in January, 1880, this coast was visited by a terrific tor¬ 
nado which caused the waves, after rebounding from the face of the 
rock and filling the fissure, to be thrown by the winds entirely over 
the rock at every point continuously and uninterruptedly for many 
days, carrying away by their impetuous descent down the opposite 
slope the supply-house on the tliirty-foot level, endangering even the 
quarters of the men. The storm reached its maximum during the 
night of the ninth, when the men were in their bunks. To the courage 
and presence of mind of Mr. Ballantyne the party owed its safety; 
his determined action arrested a panic and prevented the men from 
deserting their little house for an apparently safer refuge on a higher 
level, an attempt which could only have been followed by their 
destruction so dark was the night and so violent the wind. The sup¬ 
ply-house was a slight structure, and, for want of a better locality, 
had been established temporarily at the tliirty-foot level. Fortunately 
the superintendent had stored in the quarters plenty of hard-bread, 
coffee, and bacon, to last, with economy, for several months. 

It was not until the 25th of January that the storm subsided suffi¬ 
ciently to allow a vessel to cross the bar at the mouth of the Colum¬ 
bia River, to render assistance to the force, or to ascertain the truth 
of the reports adverse to their safety, which had been so freely circu- 


TILLAMOOK LIGHT-HOUSE. 


95 


lated, and which had had their origin in the wrecks washed upon the 
beach north of Tillamook Head. She found all safe and well, though 
in want of fresh provisions. 

On the same night that the safety of the workmen was so endan¬ 
gered, the English Iron bark “ Lupata” of ten hundred and thirty- 
nine tons’ burden, was dashed to pieces on the main shore, not a 
mile from the light-house, with the loss of every one of the twenty 
persons on board. She came so near the rock that the creaking of 
the blocks and the voices of the officers giving orders could be dis- 
tinctly heard, but the night was so dark that nothing could be seen 
except her lights. The superintendent had a bonfire built on the 
rock as soon as possible, but the vessel was probably lost before the 
light could be seen. 

By the 30 th of May, all of the rock was removed to the required 
plane, without accident of any importance. During the work an at¬ 
tempt was made to fill the fissure with the debris, but without suc¬ 
cess, the waves promptly removing every fragment thrown in, though 
many of them were of large size. As soon as the rock had been 
levelled, the work of landing the material for and of erecting the 
tower, dwelling, fog-signal, etc., was at once commenced, and was 
much expedited by the use of the boom-derrick and of the large der¬ 
rick shown on the drawings, which also give the general appearance 
of the buildings. 

The dwelling is a one-story stone structure forty-five by forty- 
eight feet, with an extension for the fog-horns twenty-eight feet six 
inches by thirty-two feet, under the same roof on the west side. 

The light, which is of the first order, showing a white flash every 
five seconds, is exhibited from a stone tower sixteen feet square, ris¬ 
ing from the centre of the main dwelling. 

There are four keepers at the station, and there is ample storage- 
room for six months’ supplies. 

The corner-stone of the dwelling was laid on the 22d of June, 1880, 
and the station was completed on the lltli of February, 1881, though 
the light had been exhibited about three weeks before. 


96 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


The total cost of the work was $123,492.82. Since the station has 
been built, the landing-stage has occasionally been destroyed. 

There is no doubt that this light station is one of the most ex¬ 
posed in the world. Every year it is visited by severe storms. As 
an example of the height to which the waves can reach, and of their 
power, I quote the following, from an official report: — 

“On December 16 and 17, 1886, the seas from the southwest broke 
over the rock, throwing large quantities of water above and on the 
building. The roof on the south and west sides of the fog-signal 
room, and on the west side of the building, were crushed in. . . . 
The concrete covering of the top of the rock around the building 
was broken, and a brick parapet and concrete filling in a low place 
outside the fence, at the south-east corner, were carried away. A 
mass of the filling weighing half a ton was thrown over the fence 
into the enclosure. Three 730-gallon water-tanks filled with water, 
at the west end of the building, were broken from their fasten¬ 
ings and piled against the fence.” 

Considerable other damage was done, but this is enough to show 
to what a great height and with what force the waves are thrown on 
this remarkable rock in the Pacific Ocean. 


(See Appendix B.) 



Centre of Li£h.t 


SERVICE ROOM. 


Bell. 

CALLERY. LANTERN AND ILLUMINATING APPARATUS, 
AT LEVEL OF SERVICE STAGE. 


STORE ROOM. 


XXXV 


COALS, AC. 




.fill I.-1.-. 


SECTION ON LINE A 8 ON PLANS OF OOURSES 


WOXjF 


ROCK 







































































































































































































































CHAPTER IX. 


NORTHWEST SEAL ROCK. 



Northwest Seal Rock, or, as it has been re-christened St. George’s 
Reef Light Station, is now in process of construction on a small 
rock forming the outermost danger of St. George’s Reef, opposite 
Crescent City, California. 

Capt. A. H. Payson, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., is in charge of 
this work. The high rocky coast from the bight of Crescent City to 
Point St. George, four and one-half nautical miles, trends in a north¬ 
erly direction, and is bordered by a belt of numerous high, rocky 
islets and sunken dangers, nearly a mile in width. 

North of the Point the coast-line turns nearly at right angles to 
its previous direction and becomes low and sandy, but the direction 
of the obstructions remain unchanged for about six nautical miles to 
seaward, and make what is known as St. George’s Reef. 

Inside the reef, close under Point St. George, is a broad and deep 
channel, sometimes used during heavy northwest weather by north- 

































98 


ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


erly-bound steamers, but only in daylight and clear weather, and pio 
bably at some risk from sunken dangers not shown on the charts. 

The position of Point St. George, about midway between Capes 
Mendocino and Blanco, would naturally suggest it as an appropriate 
place for a first-order light, did not experience at Cape Blanco, an 
almost similar situation, show that the headland itself would but im¬ 
perfectly answer the purpose. When there is not dense fog there is 
usually so much haze in this climate that vessels forced by the reef 
to give the point a berth of ten to twelve miles, would rarely see 
even a first-order light upon it, while a fog-signal, six miles from the 
danger it is designed to mark, would be practically useless. 

Northwest Seal Bock is nearly two miles outside of its nearest 
neighbor, Southwest Seal Bock, with a clear and deep, but unused 
passage between, and has close to it on all sides from one hundred 
and eight to one hundred and eighty feet of water, with no outlying 
dangers. It is a mass of mctamorphic material, varying considera¬ 
bly in character, extremely hard to drill, and brittle under the action 
of explosives, but offering almost the resistance of glass to the action 
of the sea. 

The superficial area of the rock at the water-line is about forty- 
six thousand square feet, and its general form is an oval with a high 
central ridge running nearly east and west along its longer axis, 
sloping gently on the north, but more steeply on the sides from its 
crest to the sea level. To the westward is a prolongation, called 
Little Black Bock. The greatest height of the ridge, fifty-four feet, 
is at its eastern end. 

The gentle lower slopes and smooth, water-worn surfaces, were 
plain indications that the sea at times swept over its top. Yet, to 
gain the requisite area for the foundation, it was necessary to exca¬ 
vate at a point fully thirty feet below the crest. There was no space 
available on the site where even temporary security of men Qr mate¬ 
rial could be assured, and the frequency and quickness with which 
all parts of the rock became untenable, greatly exceeded any previ¬ 
ous anticipation. It is a peculiarity of this coast that a heavy sea, 


NORTH-WEST SEAL ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE. , 99 


which results from off-shore winds and cannot be predicted from any 
sign, will begin to break upon the rock; and so suddenly did this 
happen during the working season of 1883 that in three or four 
hours from a dead calm the topmost surface of the rock was swept. 
The general features of the site for construction upon it could hardly 
have been more unfavorable. 

Crescent City, thirteen miles away, is the nearest point at which 
a landing on the coast is possible. This is a shoal and rock-encum¬ 
bered bight, quite open to the south and west, but offering a some¬ 
what disturbed shelter to be relied on from the middle of June to the 
following September. During the remainder of the year it is exposed 
at any time to the entrance of the prevailing westerly swell which 
breaks outside the anchorage and endangers any vessel lying in it. 
Crescent City is a small and isolated settlement, distant by difficult 
mountain roads one hundred and fifty miles from the telegraph, and 
more than three hundred miles from a railway. The nearest harbor 
is Humboldt Bay, where there is a good-sized town and frequent 
communication with Sai. Francisco. The depth of water on the bar 
varies from fourteen to twenty feet. This often causes detention, 
but is not a serious obstacle. Its main drawback as a depot is its 
distance from the rock, but this is unavoidable. 

The project for the foundation consisted of an oval outline adapted 
to that part of the rock which included the required area, and neces¬ 
sitated the cutting of four horizontal terraces for the foot of the 
pier-wall, and the suitable preparation of the mass of rock left 
standing within, for a bond with the pier filling; provision was to be 
made for water storage in the otherwise solid mass of the pier below 
the top of the rock. 

Since it was impossible to leave men and material on the site, it 
was necessary either to take then to and from the nearest landing 
at Crescent City, as occasion served, or to provide floating accom¬ 
modations near the rock. The saving of time, so vital to success, 
and other evident advantages of the latter course, were strong argu¬ 
ments in its favor ; it was, therefore, adopted, and a top-sail schooner 


100 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


of one hundred and twenty-seven tons, called “La Ninfa ” was 
selected. She was nearly new and strongly built for carrying copper 
ore on the west coast of South America, and had shown her fitness 
for the work by being used temporarily as a light-ship to mark the 
wreck of the “ Escambia ” on San Francisco bar. She was altered 
and in various ways specially fitted for the work. Her outfit was 
made as complete as the large experience of Mr. Ballantyne could 
suggest. He had been appointed superintendent of construction of 
this work, owing to his success in building the station at Tillamook 
Rock, a work of similar character, and, besides, many of the men 
who had worked there were also employed here. 

The steamer “ Wliitelaw ” was chartered to tow the schooner to the 
rock and to place the moorings. After several attempts she suc¬ 
ceeded in doing so, arriving at the rock on the morning of April 9, 
1883; she placed the big twelve thousand pound mooring and at¬ 
tached the schooner to it, but was then, owing to the boisterous con¬ 
dition of the sea, compelled to abandon the attempt to place the 
other moorings and stood off to sea. From then until the sixteenth 
a continuous gale prevailed, the schooner holding on in g.eat discom¬ 
fort and the steamer lying by in the offing, but the weather then 
moderated sufficientlv to enable soundings to be made on the site of 
the remaining moorings. They disclosed the fact that the depths 
were greater than those shown on the coast-survey chart, so Mr. 
Ballantyne availed himself of the presence of the steamer and went 
in her to Humboldt Bay to get larger spar buoys, where he was de¬ 
tained until the 27th. Leaving on the evening of that day he arrived 
at the rock on the 28th only to find that the schooner and the bi" 
mooring-buoy had both disappeared. The weather becoming fine, 
the steamer laid the remaining moorings, and then cruised in the 
neighborhood of the rock until the 3d of May, awaiting the re-ap¬ 
pearance of the schooner, when she again went to Humboldt Bay to 
communicate with Captain Payson for instructions. 

On arrival there she found that the “ La Ninfa ” had been sighted 
during a gale off Cape Mendocino, on the 30th of April. The 


N OR Til- WEST SEAL ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE. 101 


“ Whitelaw ” put to sea in search, and on the 6th of May fell in with 
the missing vessel twenty-five miles south of Crescent City. She 
had parted her new eight-inch hawser during a furious gale on the 
night of the 22d of April, and had since been blown first north and 
then south in a vain endeavor to keep near her work. Taking her 
in tow the steamer, for the second time, placed her in position on the 
morning of the 9th of May, and the weather being favorable a land¬ 
ing was at once made on the rock, ring-bolts put in, a temporary trav-. 
eller rigged, and the work on the rock finally and auspiciously begun. 

Arrangements were made with a small coast-steamer, making regu¬ 
lar trips between Crescent City and San Francisco once every ten 
days, to visit the rock on each trip. 

The southerly winds, which had so far prevailed, were almost im¬ 
mediately succeeded by the violent northwesters of early spring, and 
rock-cutting made but little progress until the early part of July. 
In the mean time a small donkey-engine had been put on the “ La 
IV infa ” to assist in handling the numerous moorings and spring lines, 
and to work the traveller. A new bad-weather mooring was put down 
to replace the one lost, various attempts to recover it having failed. 

From this time forward the work went on without material inter¬ 
ruption. There was much parting of lines and tackle, and the men 
often had to be taken hastily off the rock just after they had been 
put on, but in spite of many narrow escapes and some dangerous 
accidents, there was no serious injury to any one. Work on the 
north low bench was the most difficult, though it was twenty-five 
feet above the sea; the men there were almost constantly drenched 
with spray, and hardly a day passed when the sea did not break 
upon it at high water. 

During a gale on the 29th and 30th of September stones, over a 
ton in weight, which had been rolled overboard from this bench, were 
swept like chips up along its whole length and over again on the east 
end. On September 10, while two quarry men were drilling a hole on 
the lee side, just below the top of the rock, a tremendous sea swept 
completely over it, washing them down the steep south slopes nearly 



102 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


thirty feet, where they fortunately lodged on the south bench, none 
the worse save for a few bruises. 

It was judged best to store the high explosives, of which there 
were at times six hundred pounds in stock, on the rock itself. The 
magazine, built of heavy timbers, was put in a square excavation, 
made especially for it, in the topmost pinnacle, fifty feet above the 
sea, and secured by a network of four-inch lines set over its top as 
tightly as possible to r ; ng bolts in the rock; yet the magazine was 
several times twisted around by the sea under its rope lacing. The 
presence of this large amount of explosive in such close proximity 
to the blasting was a source of much apprehension, but the precau¬ 
tion was taken to wrap it in many thicknesses of tarred canvas 
and no accident occurred. 

To avoid the delay of frequent and tedious changes in the position 
of the schooner she was hauled in close enough to the rock to permit 
the use of the wire traveller-cable, and kept there as long as the 
spring lines held. She was much exposed to flying fragments, which 
often went over her in showers, marring her appearance a good deal, 
but doing no serious damage. 

The total distance over which the cage of the traveller passed 
was three hundred and fifty feet. The traveller-block was made of 
two pieces of boiler-plate, bolted together, and forming the bearings 
for the axles of four grooved gun-metal wheels, which just held the 
cable between the upper and lower pairs, and made it impossible to 
nip or bind, even were it twisted completely round the cable by the 
sea. The cage was a horizontal iron ring four feet in diameter, sus¬ 
pended from the traveller-block by three cords, attached at equal 
distances around its circumference, and having hung below it a piece 
of plank on which the passengers stood. At first the men were 
hauled to and fro singly in a breeches-buoy, but the cage was found 
much more convenient as it permitted the transport of at first four, 
and later of six men at a time, and allowed them to easily extricate 
themselves should any accident happen. The whole arranemem, 
worked perfectly, and by the aid of the engine a round trip, taking 


NORTH-WEST SEAL ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE. 103 

off six men, and return, could be made in three minutes. The shore 
end of the cable being some sixty feet above the sea, and the lowest 
point of its curve not over fifteen feet, the cage, when released from 
the rock ran down this slope with great speed. Taking advantage 
of this, and standing by to haul in with the engine, the men were 
often taken on board dry, when every sea went over the low part of 
the cable; such confidence did they gain in this means of retreat 
that they did not think of leaving the work till the sea began to run 
continuously over all the working levels ; then, lashing their tools to 
ring-bolts prepared for the purpose, the cage was put in use and in 
twenty minutes all hands would be in safety. But one accident oc¬ 
curred with it, and that was the parting of the traveller-rope in a 
heavy sea just as four men were being swung off the rock, but, luck¬ 
ily, they had only started, and so fell unharmed on the cast bench. 
Whenever the sea would permit, the men were taken to and from 
the rock in a surf-boat to save the costly item of water and also time. 
It was extraordinary to see how, little by little, they became more 
venturesome, till, at the end, they would jump out one by one from 
the boat, holding to a life-line from the rock, with the sea rising and 
falling fully fifteen feet on the nearly vertical east face. 

The schooner’s position near the rock, the character and position 
of the moorings, and the manner in which the traveller was rigged, 
are shown in the accompanying plate . 1 About the middle of August 
the foundation benches had been roughly formed, and needed only 
the finishing touches of the stone-cutters. 

The position and size, eleven thousand cubic feet, of the cistern 
having been fixed, the party commenced to work on this; the ten 
days from the 18th to the 28th of September were the finest of the 
whole year, and the men, warned by the lateness of the season and 
the ominous westerly swell, and very anxious to end their long seclu¬ 
sion, worked with such eagerness, that, contrary to the expectations 
of the foreman, everything planned for the season was finished by 2 
p. m., September 28. The tools were taken on board that evening 


1 See full-page picture, upper lialf. 





104 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


with the men, and by 2 A. m. next day the long-expected first winter 
gale had reached such violence that all the rock-lines parted, and the 
schooner was lying by a single line to the outer buoy. The storm 
continued until the 1st of October, and on the 2d the steamer “ Cres¬ 
cent City ” came out to the rock with instructions for closing up the 
work. As it was too rough to communicate there, the schooner, at 9 
A. M. on the 2d of October cut her last remaining mooring-line and 
followed the steamer under the lee of Point St. George, where the 
stone-cutters and quarrymen were taken off, and she started to make 
the best of her way to San Francisco, where she arrived forty-eight 
hours after, being favored with a strong northerly gale. The steamer 
did not arrive at San Francisco until three days later, when the 
working force was disbanded and the plant stored at the depot on 
Yerba Buena Island. 

The sketch 1 shows the appearance of the rock at the end of the 
working season. 

The next year’s work was dependent on the action of Congress 
in granting an additional appropriation, and, as it was a long session, 
no more money would be available until July or August; therefore, to 
save time, the steamer “ Wliitelaw ” was sent to the rock to replace 
the moorings and to erect the big derrick in anticipation of the sea¬ 
son’s work ; this she safely accomplished by July 2, but as Congress 
appropriated but $30,000, too small a sum to continue work at the 
site, it was devoted to the preparation of material at Humboldt Bay. 

Before any work had been done at the rock it was first determined 
to get the necessary granite from the Sierra Nevada and to use sand 
stone for filling, but a rumor having reached Captain Payson that 
granite had been discovered on Mad River near the railroad from 
Humboldt, he at once examined the place and found a deposit of ex¬ 
cellent quality, but no evidence of the existence of the rock in place. 
The side of the mountain showed, within perfectly defined and narrow 
limits to the right and left, but extending for a considerable distance 
with less-marked boundaries up and down the slope, the tops of 

1 See full-page picture, lower half. 

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DfJTFfyED in a (J ALe yAPRIL I6.18J1. 

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NORTH-WEST SEAL ROCK LIGHT-HOUSE. 105 


v/bat looked like water-worn boulders, some of them of apparently 
several hundred tons in weight. 

This discovery materially diminished the cost of the work and 
made the delivery of the stone more certain and speedy. Enough 
granite was found here not only for the facing, but also for all the 
interior filling. It was taken from the quarry to the depot at Hum¬ 
boldt to be dressed to shape. 

The next year, 1885, Congress appropriated $40,000 more, which 
was also devoted to quarrying and dressing stone. 

In 1886 there was no money appropriated. 

The small appropriation of 1884-5 necessitated the abandonment 
of measures already taken, the waste of much money in useless pre¬ 
paration, and the suspension of work upon the rock. 

In 1887 Congress appropriated $120,000, active preparations were 
at once made to commence laying the stone already prepared, and it 
is hoped to complete the first eight courses on the rock by the end of 
this working season. 

The amounts so far appropriated are as follows : 


August 7, 1882, 

$50,000. 

March 3, 1883, 

50,000. 

July 7, 1884, 

30,000. 

March 3, 1885, 

40,000. 

March 3, 1887, 

120,000. 

Total,. 

$290,000. 


It will take about $160,000 to finish the work: had the appropria¬ 
tions been of adequate sums it would now be completed, and at much 
less expense.* In a future article I expect to finish the history of this 
light-house, which may fairly rank among the sea-rock light-houses 
of the world. 


LIGHT-HOUSE OF TRIAGOZ. 

The light-house of Triagoz in the Department of Cotes du Nord, 
France, is also established on an isolated rock in the sea called Guen 
Bras. The plateau of Triagoz is of considerable extent, being about 
four miles long from east to west by about one mile wide, but only 


I 





106 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


isolated points of rock are exposed even in the lowest tides. The 
rock selected as the site of this light-house is the most elevated 
point on the south side, and, in consequence, marks the northerly 
limit of the channel followed by coasting-vessels. In front it has 
the appearance of an almost vertical wall, and on the opposite side 
it falls off with a depression in the surface forming a small open 
creek. This is the most accessible place during the three or four 
hours of low tide. The depth of water, which is over sixty feet at 



the lowest tides at the foot of the rock on the south side, increases 
rapidly as you leave it; the bottom is rocky, and the tidal currents 
so strong that the plan originally intended of keeping a vessel 
anchored here during the fine season to serve as quarters for the 
workmen, had to be abandoned. It was, therefore, necessary to 
build a hut, after having levelled off the summit of the rock, on the 
part corresponding to the interior opening of the tower. It enclosed 
a vertical post set in the centre of the structure, rigged with a boom 
for raising stones up to the work. The landing of the material was 
















LIGHT-HOUSE OF TRIAGOZ. 


107 


done by means of two derricks, one placed at the entrance of the 
little creek before mentioned, the other on the south-east end of the 
rock. They were worked with great rapidity whenever the sea was 
smooth enough for landings to be made. The sketch gives a view 
of the work when the construction had been well advanced. 



The base of the tower was fixed above the level of the highest tide; 
the edifice consists of a square tower with a salient staircase enclo¬ 
sure on one of its sides. On the level of the first floor is a vestibule 
leading to the staircase with a store-room on each side of it. There 
are three rooms above the ground floor, one of which is reserved for 
the engineers. They are roofed over with cloistered arches and are 
provided with fireplaces. In the upper part of the tower is the 
watch-room which serves at the same time as a store-room for imple¬ 
ments that are to be kept free from moisture. The cast-iron stair¬ 
way to the lantern leads from this room. A platform conforming to 
the shape of the rock surrounds the edifice; it is reached by means 
of flights of stairs, which are built into the side of the rock, starting 
from the point where the landing is least difficult. Under the front 
part of the platform are store-rooms for fuel and other materials. 















108 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


The work was executed in rubble masonry with cut-granite trim¬ 
mings; the outside faces of these stones were dressed to give an 
appearance of rustic masonry. The work was commenced in 1861 
and finished in 1864 ; it cost about $60,000. The tower is ninety-two 
feet high, the light is ninety-eight feet above high water, is of the 
third order, fixed, varied by red flashes, and is visible twelve miles. 

THE SMALLS LIGHT-HOUSE. 

Although it is not necessary to give further details of the methods 
employed in building sea-rock light-houses, yet before leaving this 
part of the subject it is proper to make reference to some incidents 
connected with the erection of the Smalls Light-house off the west 
coast of Wales. The motive which influenced Mr. Philipps, its con¬ 
structor, was of a more elevated character than that of other 
light-house builders of his time. In lighting these dangerous rocks 

O O O O f 

he proposed, above all, “ to serve and save humanity.” Sixty years 
later, when the heirs of this philanthropist ceded the structure to 
the Trinity House, they were awarded an indemnity of upwards of 
$850,000. 

The task undertaken by Philipps was sufficiently unpromising. 
The rock selected for the site projects in ordinary weather twelve 
feet above the sea, but in rough weather, which is frequent in this 
vicinity, the rock is entirely submerged. At the time this work was 
undertaken, engineers were not so numerous as now, and Philipps 
had difficulty in finding a suitable superintendent; he did find one, 
however, in the person of a young man named Whiteside, a musical- 
instrument maker, of Liverpool, with a remarkable genius for 
mechanics. 

In the summer of 1772 Whiteside first made the acquaintance of 
the place on which he was to indelibly grave his name. He disem¬ 
barked on the rocks with a gang of Cornish miners, and the obstacles 
which they met at the commencement of the work nearly disgusted 
him with the enterprise. He and his companions had started the 


THE SMALLS LIGHT-HOUSE. 


109 


work when a storm suddenly broke upon them. The wind blew with 
great force, and the cutter which had brought them had to fly before 
the fury of the gale. The workmen left on the rock hung on the best 
they could for two days and nights. Whiteside, however, was not 



discouraged, and finally brought the work to a successful end, but 
not without being exposed to many dangers. 

One day the dwellers on the coast picked up on the beach a 
“ message from the deep,” that is to say, a cask inscribed “ Open this 
and you will find a letter; ” inside was a carefully-sealed bottle and 
in the bottle a document- as follows : 


“Smalls, February 1, 1777. 

u Sir, — Finding ourselves at this moment in the most critical and 
dangerous condition, we hope that Providence will guide this letter 
to you, and that you will come immediately to our succor. Send to 








110 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


seek for us before spring or we will perish, I fear; our supply of 
wood and water is almost exhausted, and our house is in the most 
sad state. We do not doubt that you would come to seek us as 
promptly as possible. We can be reached at high tide in almost 
any weather. I have no need to tell you more, you will comprehend 
our distress, and I remain, 

Your humble servant, 

“II. Whiteside.” 


Below this signature were these words: 

* 

“ We were surprised on the 23 January by a tempest; since that 
time we have not been able to light the temporary light for want of 
oil and candies. We fear we have been forgotten. 

“ Ed. Edwards, G. Adams, J. Price. 

“P. S. We do not doubt that the person in whose hands this will 
fall will be sufficiently charitable to send it to Tli. Williams, Esq., 
Treletlien, near St. Davids, Wales.” 

The history of Smalls has other and darker pages. It is related 
that at the beginning of this century there was a winter so stormy 
that for four months the two keepers were entirely cut off from any 
succor from shore. It was in vain that vessels were sent to the rock, 
the furious sea always prevented a landing. One of them returned 
one day with a strange report. Its crew had seen a man, standing 
and motionless, in a corner of the exterior gallery. Near him floated 
a signal of distress. But was he alive or dead? No one could say. 
Each evening anxious looks were cast at the liglit-house to see if its 
light would be shown, and each evening it shone brightly, proof that 
some one was still there. But were both keepers alive, and if there 
were but one, who was the survivor ? This was learned later. 

One evening a fisher from Milford who had succeeded in landing 
at Smalls in an intermission of calm weather, brought to Solway the 
two keepers, but one of them was a corpse. The survivor had made 
a coffin for his dead comrade, then, after having carried it to a 


THE SMALLS LIGHT-HOUSE. 


Ill 


corner of the gallery, lie had stood it on end, attaching it firmly. 
Left alone he had done good service. When returned on shore 
he was so changed, so emaciated, that his relatives and friends could 
scarcely recognize him. lie asserted that his comrade died of 
disease; he was believed, but after this time there were always three 
keepers at Smalls in place of two—a wise precaution which has 
since been taken for light-houses placed in similar conditions. 







/ 


# 











CHAPTER X. 


LIGHT-HOUSES ON THE ATLANTIC COAST OF THE 

UNITED STATES. 



Our Atlantic coast does not afford any examples of rocks as high 
as Tillamook, but there are many outlying dangers which had to be 
marked by powerful lights exhibited from tall towers. 

At Petit Manan, for example, off the coast of Maine, is a tall 
granite tower carrying a first-order flashing-light at a height of one 
hundred and twenty-five feet above sea level, which can readily be 
seen at a distance of seventeen nautical miles. Clustered around 
the base of the tower are dwellings for the keepers and an additional 




GROUND PLAN OP COURSE 14. 


Scale 


5 i< Tin 


SECTION. 

Scaleiiifert 

S 


XIGHT HOUSE at SPECTACLE KEEP. 
LAKE HURON. 




See page 84 































































































































































































































































































































MATINICUS ROCK LIGHT-STATION. 


113 


dwelling lias been built one hundred and fifty feet to the westward. 
The keepers at this station have not only to attend to the light, but 
also to a steam-whistle which is sounded during foggy weather. 

The next important light along this coast is on Mt. Desert Rock. 
This tower was built with a very broad base and thick walls; at 
times the sea has washed entirely over the rock, and the keepers 
with their families have had to take refuge in the tower. The 
keepers succeed in raising a few flowers and fresh vegetables in 
earth brought by boat from the mainland and deposited in sheltered 
spots. The station is noted for the number of sea-birds, especially 
gulls, which lay their eggs there. The keepers never molest them. 

Matinicus Rock is twenty-five miles out in the ocean from the 
mainland, directly in the pathway of the ocean-steamers plying from 
Boston and Portland to Eastport, St. John, Yarmouth and Halifax, 
and of the immense fleet of coasting and fishing vessels trading 
between the United States and the British Provinces. This barren 
and jagged rock, covering an area of thirty-nine acres at low tide, is 
inaccessible except during favorable weather, and on it stand the 
two towers, dwellings and fog-signal which comprise the Matinicus- 
Rock Light-station. The station was first built in 1827 and consisted 
of a cobble-stone dwelling with a wooden tower at each end. In 
184G a new dwelling of granite with a granite tower at each end was 
substituted for the old dwelling which was used for an out-house, and 
the wooden towers were removed. Steam fog-signals were placed 
here in 1856, and in 1857 the granite towers of the dwelling were 
cut down to the roof and two isolated towers erected farther apart 
than the old ones. 

In the spring of 1853, Samuel Burgess obtained the position of 
liglit-keeper; his family consisted of an invalid wife, four small 
daughters and a son, who, though making his home on the rock, was 
absent much of the time fishing in Bay Chaleur and elsewhere. The 
eldest daughter, Abbie, fourteen years old, was the keeper’s only 
assistant; she aided in caring for the light as well as attending to 
the principal household duties. In the occasional absence of her 


114 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


father, the whole care of the lights devolved upon her. She modestly 
says : “ I took a great deal of pride in my light-house work and tried 
to do my duty” — a duty on the faithful performance of which 
depended the safety of many a vessel and its crew. She soon 
became proficient, and, as subsequent events proved, w*as fully 
competent to assume full charge. On the morning of January 19, 185G, 
Abbie then being seventeen years of age, the Atlantic was visited by 
one of those terrific gales to which it is subject. This was the same 



gale that destroyed Minot’s Light-house and its keepers. Her father 
was away, and the following letter written by her to a friend will 
show the dangers and responsibilities in which this brave girl was 
placed: 

11 Dear -, You have often expressed a desire to view the sea 

out upon the ocean when it was angry. Had you been here on the 
19 January, I surmise you would have been satisfied. Father was 
away. Early in the day, as the tide arose, the sea made a complete 
breach over the rock, washing every movable thing away, and of the 
old dwelling not one stone was left upon another. The new dwelling 
was flooded, and the windows had to be secured to prevent the vio¬ 
lence of the spray from breaking them in. As the tide came, the sea 











MATINICUS ROCK LIGHT-STATION. 


115 


rose higher and higher, till the only endurable places were the light- 
towers. If they stood we were saved, otherwise our fate was only 
too certain. But for some reason, I know not why, I had no mis¬ 
givings, and went on with my work as usual. For four weeks, owing 
to rough weather, no landing could be effected on the rock. During 
this time we were without the assistance of any male member of our 
family. Though at times greatly exhausted with my labors, not once 
did the lights fail. Under God I was able to perform all my accus¬ 
tomed duties as well as my father’s. 

“ You know the hens were our only companions. Becoming con¬ 
vinced, as the gale increased, that unless they were brought into the 
house they would be lost, I said to mother: ‘I must try to save 
them.’ She advised me not to attempt it. The thought, however, 
of parting with them without an effort was not to be endured, so 
seizing a basket, I ran out a few yards after the rollers had passed 
and the sea fell off a little, with the water knee deep, to the 
coop, and rescued all but one. Tt was the work of a moment, and I 
was back in the house with the door fastened, but I was none too 
quick, for at that instant my little sister, standing at the window, 
exclaimed : ‘ Oh, look ! look there! the worst sea is coming.’ That 
wave destroyed the old dwelling and swept the rock. I cannot 
think you would enjoy remaining here any great length of time for 
the sea is never still, and when agitated, its roar shuts out every 
other sound, even drowning our voices.” 

In the spring of 1857, Mr. Burgess left the rock to obtain his 
salary and secure needed provisions and fuel. The weather pre¬ 
vented his return, and the family ran short of food. Waiting till 
famine stared them in the face, the son started in a little skiff 
equipped with a sail, made by the aid of his sister, to obtain succor. 
Pushing from the rock in his frail craft, he was at first lost sight of 
in the trough of the sea, he reappeared on the top of the waves for 
a short distance and was seen no more for twenty-one days, during 
which time the mother and the four girls were reduced to a cup of 
corn-meal and one egg each per day. Added to risk of perishing of 


116 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

famine in mid-ocean was tlie torturing suspense as to the fate of 
father and son. During all this time Abbio attended to the light, 
cared for her sick mother, and, by her spirit and example, cheered 
the little family clustered together on this wave-beaten rock in the 
Atlantic. Fortunately, father and son finally safely returned to 
their ocean home. 

In 18G1, Mr. Burgess was relieved of his duties by the appoint¬ 
ment of Captain Grant and son Abbie instructed them in their 
duties and in the same year married Mr. Isaac H. Grant, the son. 
The season of 1875 found her still on the rock, the mother of four 
children, and, a vacancy occurring at the White Head Light, Me., 
her husband was appointed keeper with her as assistant. They are 
still at this station, though it is her ambition to retire from the light- 
house service to a farm. 

HALFWAY ROCK, ME. 

This light-house, located on a barren rock, so swept by the sea 
that there is absolutelv no soil, contains the dwelling and living- 
rooms of the keepers, and forms their rather desolate residence. 



From a distance the gray granite tower, showing a third-order light 
eighty feet above the sea, appears to stand in the water. The rock 
is so storm-swept that landings are almost impossible except in pleas¬ 
ant weather: a boat-house was built here of concrete, but the ways 
where first placed were destroyed by storms, so their location had to 
be changed, necessitating the cutting of the boat-house in two. 1 

The light-house was built in 1871. 

1 See sketch, page 1G0. 


i 















BOON ISLAND, ME., LIGIIT-IIOUSE. 


117 


BOON ISLAND, ME. 

Like the preceding, this light-house also seems to spring from the 
waves; the granite tower is one hundred and twenty-three feet high, 



'2/4'tcccuS' 


rrru. 


its base being ten feet above the sea level; alongside is the granite 
dwelling for the keepers. It was built in 1812 and shows a second 
order light visible for eighteen miles. 
















11.8 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGIIT-IIOUSES. 

/ 

Before the improvement in the lenticular apparatus had reached 
its present perfection, by which the characteristics of adjacent lights 
can be made so dissimilar that there can be no danger of confound¬ 
ing them, the same object was secured by building two, or even 
three lights close together on the point to be marked. Some relics 
of this expensive, and, I trust, obsolescent custom still remain, not¬ 
ably, at Cape Elizabeth, Casco Bay, Me., at Thatcher’s Island, Mass., 
and at Nauset Beach, Cape Cod, Mass. At Cape Elizabeth the two 
towers were built in 1828, and show, the one a white light, and the 
other a white light varied by a white flash every minute at a height 
of one hundred and forty-three feet above the sea level; both lights 
are of the second-order, and can be seen for eighteen miles. 

The Cape Ann towers, on Thatcher’s Island, are handsome gran¬ 
ite structures one hundred and sixty-five and a-half feet above the 
sea, carrying first-order lights, visible for nineteen miles. They were 
first established in 1790 and rebuilt in 1861. At Nauset Beach 
there are three little, low towers, eighteen feet high, but situated on 
a bluff, so that the fourth-order lights they carry are ninety-three 
feet above sea level and can be seen over fifteen miles. There are 
double lights also on Gurnet Point, near Plymouth, Mass., and on 
Baker’s Island, Mass., but these are of use mainly as “ ranges.” 

BOSTON LIGIIT. 

The oldest light-house in the United States is the Boston Light, 
situated on Little Brewster Island on the north side of the main 
entrance to Boston Harbor, Mass. It was established in 1716 and 
rebuilt in 1859. The light is of the second-order, flashing every thirty 
seconds, is shown from a tower one hundred and eleven feet above 
sea-level, and is visible for sixteen and one-half miles. The following 

O 

account of this light, and of some of its various vicissitudes is taken 
from the Boston Evening Transcript of August 26, 1880. 

In the Evening Transcript, copied from the Providence Journal, the 
latter paper is mistaken in saying that the light-house built in 1740 on 
Beaver Tail, the south end of Conanicut, was the oldest light-house built 


BOSTON LIGHT. 


119 


on tlie New England coast, or even on the American coast; the second 
being the Brant light, entrance of Nantucket Harbor, in 1754, etc. 
Our Massachusetts records, and also those of Nantasket (Hull), give 
evidence of one built by the Massachusetts Colony thirty-four years 
previous to 1749, viz. : “ The General Court of the Province [of Mass. 
Bay], order a Light house erected by the Province, June 9,1715, & a 
committee named to build it, viz : William Payne, Colo. Samuel 
Thaxter, Colo. Adam Wintlirop, the Hon. William Tailer, & Ad¬ 
dington Davenport added to it. Approved by Gov’r Dudley — 
enacted in July, & Id a ton inward & Id a ton outward to be paid 
to the Receiver of Imposts by all ships or vessels except coasters: & 
an application made to Hull for little Brewster for it, £60 allowed 
Payne and Capt. Zac Tuthill to build and finish it. Lt Governor 
Tailer assented.” The cost was £2,385 17s. S^d. 

Hull generously assented as “ at a legal meeting of the Proprietors 
of the undivided lands in Hull, on Monday, Augt 1 , 1715 Colo. Sam¬ 
uel Thaxter for the com’e on application for building a light house 
on Brewster Island, so called, adjoining to the Great Brewster, being 
present and ‘ censeble ’ of the general benefit to trade and particularly 
to themselves, by unanimous vote have granted the said Brewster 
Island in the Province of Mass Bay for the use of a Light house for¬ 
ever : provided said proprietors of the Great Brewster be held harm¬ 
less. Hull Augt 1 1715.” 

“ 1716. A com’e of Hull petitioned the Genl Court for liberty to 
choose a Light House Keeper.” But “June 25, 1716 the General 
Court appointed a committee to choose one, at £50 a year, & chose 
George Worthylake, husbandman, iE. 43, as the 1st keeper.” In 
the second year, on his petition, his salary was raised to £70 as “he 
lost 59 sheep by drowning in a severe storm, his attendance on the 
Light House preventing him from saving them.” 

lie and wife and daughter Lucy, or Ruth, were drowned Novem¬ 
ber 3,1 718, going to Noddle’s Island, and were buried in Copp’s Hill 
cemetery, Boston. 

Benjamin Franklin issued a ballad on the occasion and hawked 


120 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGUT-IfOUSES. 


it about Boston. November 18, 1718, Jolin Haynes was chosen the 
second keeper of the light; he was a mariner and pilot, and re¬ 
signed August 23, 1733, and was succeeded by Capt. Robert Ball, an 
Englishman, on August, 1733. He married Mrs. Martha King, of 
Charlestown, whose daughter Martha married Adam Knox. In 1776 

7 O 



the town of Hull dissented from Robert Ball’s proposals, paying him 
“ £5 for 4 years past & same anualy, as long as He keeps the 
Light House.” By this, Hull had some interest in the keeper, or, 
perhaps, employed his services for the beacon or watch-house. Ball 
was taxed in Hull, 1767, but he refused, as non-resident; it was 
finally abated in 1774. His son, Capt. Robert Ball, sea captain, 
wills, in 1772 or 1782, Calf Island, Boston Harbor, and Green Is¬ 
land in Hull to his son John, and to his daughter Sarah, the outer 
Brewster Island (which was sold in 1794 for £50). 

Robert Ball, Sr., kept the light-house from 1733, under the Royal 
Government, to or after 1766, and one account thinks till after the 
British fleet left Boston Harbor in the Revolution. 

June 19, 1746, John Fayerweather, a merchant of Boston, in his 
account-books on that date charges the “ Town of Boston 50s., cash 























24 


/ 


FIRST ORDER L.H., TILLAMOOK ROCK, OREGON. 






Jf.Kl'ahrr ------------ 


Perspective View from the North Hast, shaving the Station in Process of Construction. Sen at lowest Stage, tenet ver'y quiet. 












































































































BOSTOJS LIGHT. 


121 


paid at ye Light House Tavern, for sundry meetings held there with 
ye committee to measure ye rocks from ye lower middle ground, for 
order to sink hulks, if occasion, & 8.s Gd more for drink, for the 
boats crew in April — total £3-4s-8d.” And gave an order to 
Henry King to receive it. lie credits “received of King £2-19-8.” 

1751. The light-house injured by fire was repaired. 

1775. The light-house in possession of the British fleet, was de¬ 
stroyed July 19 by the Americans; Admiral Graves of the British 
fleet repaired it. 

July 31, 1775 the Americans again destroyed it; it was again re¬ 
paired, and when the British fleet were driven from Boston Harbor 
Captain Bangs, of the “ Renown,” placed a train of powder under it 
and blew it up. 

A keeper who was at the light-house with his wife when destroyed 
by the Americans, left his property and fled to Dorchester; there 
his wife saw one of her dresses on a woman in the street. 

1783. Massachusetts rebuilt it, sixty-eight feet; high, of stone, 
with four lamps of a gallon of oil each, and four burners, and on 
November 28tli of that year, Capt. Thomas Knox, pilot, was appointed 
keeper by Governor Hancock. His father, Adam, and mother, 
Martha Knox, resided there with him; she died there January, 1790, 
and Adam died there December of the same year, aged eighty-one. 

1790. The island was ceded to the United States. In 1829, 
Jonathan Bruce, pilot, was keeper, being recommended by the 
Boston Marine Society. 

Neal, in 1719, says: “The light-house was built on a rock above 
water, 2 leagues from Boston, where, in time of war, a signal is 
made to the castle & by the castle to the town, by hoisting and 
lowering the Union flag so many times as there are ships approach¬ 
ing ; if they exceed a certain nmnber, the castle fires 3 .guns to 
warn the town of Boston, & the Gov’r if needs be, orders the 
Beacon fires, which alarms the adjacent country, and gives 6 or 
more hours to prepare for their reception.” “ Shaw's History of 
Boston ” (Pemberton’s account), 1817, says: “Light-House Island is 




Boston Light, I 888. 

In 1676-77, the proprietors of Hull divided the wood on the lessei 
Brewster, as they afterwards did on the other Brewsters, to clear 
them for planting and grass, to be done by May 1, 1679, the land 
and lots to be divided by lot. 

1801. Sumner’s “ East Boston ” speaks of the Brewsters wearing 
away. 

1815. Boston Marine Society petitioned to have the light-house 
lit in winter (probably closed in war of 1812). 

i 

1860. The old tower was heightened and had a revolvin^-li^ht. 
There was, no doubt, quite early a beacon and watch-house erected 
on Beacon or Light-House Island, as well as on Point Allerton Hill, 


122 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

a high rock of 2 or 3 acres, f of an acre of it good soil; a bar, dry 
at low water, connected with Great Brewster; a stone Lt house 
shows one light; it is 8| miles from Long Wharf, Boston, and was 
formerly known as Beacon Island, &c.; pilots here have a piece of 
artillery to answer signal guns.” 

This and all the islands and Nantasket, including its beaches, 
were, on the settlement of the colony, covered with dense, woods. 




BOSTON LIGHT. 


123 

by the town of Nantasket (Hull) to look out for and warn of an 
enemy’s approach. 

On the Massachusetts archives is this: “Hull, March 9, i673-4. 
A true copy of the charges of the town of Hull hath been at about 
the Beacon, with the persons that warded the said Beacon, with an 
account of corne that was spoyled by carting over the said eorne, 
and what was pluct up to set up the Beacon. The ward was, first, 
Benj. Bosworth, Sen’r, 17 days [other names omitted here] total GG 
days. In the name of the Towne Serg’t Bosworth, Nathaniel Bos¬ 
worth. 

“ Charges about the Watch-house — timber & setting up, 2s., 300 
of boards, 10s. Gd.; nails, 2s.; carting to the place, 2s. is £0 16s. 
Gd.; more for the beacon : a kettle, 5s.; for pitch, 2s.; John Loring 
& John Prince for making tier bales with pitch and ocum to make 
the bales, Is. Gd.; for men to go to Boston to fetch more pitch for 
the beacon, 4s.; sum, £0 16s Gd.; total, £l 13s. Od. For the corne 
spoyled by carting of the beacon setting up, which corne Capt. 
Oliver had a note of, to show to authority, which was three bushels.” 

March 9, 1G 73-74. The petition of the inhabitants of Hull about 
the trouble of setting and warding the beacon erected on Point Alter- 
ton , says: “ We are a small people, our employment is wholly at sea, 
constantly every week of summer time, so that the whole burden lay 
upon a few men, whereby those men not only lost their time, but by 
continued working and warding, made unfit to carry on our employ, 
which we think is not the case with any other town in the colony. 
You do not consider how hardly it pinched us ; yet we are assessed 
to pay our whole rate to the county & the castle. We think it too 
hard, &c. Notwithstanding that at the request of the Hon’d per¬ 
sons betrusted with the castle edifice, who send to us to dig and have 
some stone quarried at Brewsters Islands, which we consented,to, 
& gave a gratuity thereto to the number of 4£jeT boat loads, we 
hear that other towns had abatement in those rates, but we have 
none, but the castle got our stones and we may pay for the boating 
of them. We request the Hon’d court to weigh well these pre- 


124 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


mises, and doubt not that they -will do right, and have sent this 2nd 
address, and we, committing you unto the Lord’s direction, we take 
leave to rest yours, in all humble subscription, Nath’l Bos worth, 
Thos. Collyer, John Benson, Sen’r, John Loring, Robert Goold, 
Selectmen, and in the name of the rest, Hull, March 9, 1673-74.” 

Indorsed “The magistrates remit the town of Hull the county 
rate, their brethren, the Deputies, consenting, Edward Rawson.” 

“The Deputies consent not hereto, but judge meet to refer ye 
answer to the said petition to the next Court. The Hon’d Magis¬ 
trates consenting hereto, Win. Terry Oliver, 27-3-1674, consented 
to go to ye Magistrates, Edw. Rawson, 29 May, 1674.” 

Hull’s county tax for 1674 was £8 4s. The beacons on Point 
Allerton and Beacon Island were, no doubt, the origin of the light¬ 
house on the latter. 












CHAPTER XI. 


THE ROTHERSAND LIGHT TOWER. 


low tide.. 



The light-liouscs 

so far described 

■were built upon 

solid rocks; the 

engineers found a 

stable foundation 

on which to erect 
iC5b tide 

their structures, 
h . jgb . and if the towers 

were properly root¬ 
ed to the rock there 
would be no fear of 
their destruction 
from the undermin¬ 
ing or changing of 
their bases. 

But there are 
many cases where 
the safety of life 
and commerce im¬ 
peratively demands 
the erection of these 
o-uides to mariners 
on shifting shoals 
at long distances 
from shorethen 
are the difficulties 


and dangers multiplied many fold, and the skill and ingenuity of 
the engineer severely taxed. In many localities in this and other 




















































































































































































































126 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHTHOUSES. 


countries dangerous outlying shoals are marked by light-ships, but 
wherever light-houses can replace them, even though a great outlay 
may be necessary, it is advisable to erect the latter, which need but 
a few men to attend them, and which make a much more reliable 
signal, as it is not uncommon for light-sliips to be driven from their 
moorings, thus depriving mariners for a time at least of their 
friendly light. As examples of how such works have recently been 

4 

built, I will give a description of the construction of the Rothersand 
(red sand) light tower in the North Sea, Holland, condensed from 
a paper read before the Society of Civil Engineers and Architects 
at Hamburg, the 21st of April, 188G, and also of a similar structure 
just completed in this country at a shoal called Fourteen Foot Bank, 
Delaware Bay. 

TIIE ROTIIERSAXD LIGHT TOWER. 

The construction of this tower has a history of many years. The 
best way to enumerate the many difficulties under which the work 
was carried on and finally completed is to relate how the project was 
originated and developed and how at first a failure and later a suc¬ 
cess was attained. 

By an agreement, the bordering states of Prussia, Oldenberg and 
Bremen bound themselves to mutually regulate the construction and 
maintenance of the aids to navigation of the Weser, and to meet the 
necessary expenses by a tax levied upon all the vessels entering the 
mouth of the river. An inspection tour was to be made annually 
under Prussia’s authority. 

In June, 1878, the first inspection drew attention to the imperfect 
manner in which the entrance to the Weser was lighted, and a li'dit 
vessel was recommended. But as it was found impossible to moor a 
vessel securely, it was concluded to attempt the erection of a light 
tower. 

The three above named allies gave Bremen the authority to build 
it; the matter was referred by the Light-house Establishment of 
Bremen to its Senate, which detailed Herr Hanks to execute the work. 

This gentleman entered into correspondence with the Harkoort 


THE ROTIIERSAND LICIIT-TOWER. 


127 


Company of Duisburg on the Rhine, in August, 1878, and inquired 
if this company would undertake the erection of the tower at its 
own risk, and requested it to submit a proposal. 

The tower was to be built on a sandy bottom twenty feet below 
the surface of the water, was to have a height of ninety-three feet 
above low water, and to be strong enough to resist heavy seas and 
floating ice. Ilerr Hanks suggested a screw pile foundation such as 
are used in England. 

The company expressed its willingness to undertake the work, but 
proposed a very massive foundation to be sunk by the pneumatic 
process as preferable to one built of screw piles. 

Considerable correspondence ensued and an inspection was made 
of the site. The latter is thirty-one miles from Bremerhaven, nearly 
in a straight line to the island of Heligoland, a little nearer the 
latter, distant from any harbor, and in a locality where winds from 
the west and northeast get up heavy seas. 

In addition, it was required that the tower be built close to the 
fifty-foot channel, which is constantly changing; this precluded the 
use of any type of foundation except the one proposed by the com¬ 
pany, and even this had to be sunk to a considerable depth. Under 
the circumstances it seemed impossible to erect a working platform, 
nor would it be prudent to attempt to transport a caisson to the site 
suspended between two vessels. 

Herr Hanks proposed to float the caisson to the locality, to sink it 
there, and then to fill it with concrete. The company believed this 
to be a brilliant and practical method, and perfected it by proposing 
to sink the cais:on on the sand by filling it with water, and into the 
sand by the pneumatic process, the necessary machinery; namely, 
boiler, air-pump, air-lock, etc., to be placed within the caisson. 

Plans and specifications conforming to the above were submitted 
on the 7th of February, 1879. The requirements at that time were 
different from the present tower; it was contemplated to sink it only 
thirty-eight feet below Jow water, and to be filled with concrete 13.6 
feet above the same level. 


128 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGH^-HOUSES. 


While the drawings were being prepared, the Company’s engineer 
who had been engaged on the work unexpectedly resigned. Shortly 
afterward he and two other engineers formed a company with the in¬ 
tention of competing for the construction of this tower. They were 
rather premature, however, in their action, as eighteen months 
elapsed before the fund accumulated from the light dues was large 
enough to begin the work. On September 15th, 1880, proposals 
were invited and bidders were furnished with plans and specifica¬ 
tions, which, however, were not binding in all their details. The 
young company mentioned above were very anxious to get the con¬ 
tract, believing that its successful execution would secure them a glo¬ 
rious future. 

The Harkoort Company bid 480,500 marks (about $120,125) not 
including the brush mattresses and rip-rap protection against scour; 
their competitors bid was 450,000 marks (about $112,500) including 
the above protection. As after experience showed, this protection cost 
110,000 marks, so according to these figures the two estimates dif¬ 
fered by 140,500 marks ($35,125.) 

The low price at which the contract was taken was the principal 
cause of its failure. The contractors were compelled to save in the 
construction of details which should have been executed in the best 
manner, and were forced to neglect important preparations for 
which they had neglected to estimate. 

The construction of the floating caisson was commenced and com¬ 
pleted during the winter of 1880-81. On the morning of May 22, 
1881, when there was a dead calm, two tug-boats towed the caisson 
from the harbor (Kaiser’s haven) in Bremerhaven, down the Weser to 
the site. The caisson was not under good control; rolling heavily, 
it parted its tow-line in the following night, and went ashore at ebb 
tide. Next morning at high tide it floated off again, the hawser was 
refastened, and on the evening of the fourth day from leaving the 
harbor it had reached the site, and was sunk to the bottom \y the 
rather primitive method of removing a large wooden plug six inches 
in diameter, located two and one-half feet above the bottom of the 



Perspective View from f/te Northeast, showing the Station compteteet. Rough southerly Sea. 



















































































































THE ROTHERSAND LIGHT-TOWER. 


129 


caisson. This nearly caused the caisson to upset, but finally at night¬ 
fall it reached the bottom. 

All this unexpected trouble worried and discouraged the men, who 
had hardly slept since leaving the harbor — a few of them, under 
charge of one of the engineers, remained on the caisson; the rest 
found quarters on the steamer provided for this purpose, and moored 
at a safe distance from the caisson. 

The next morning, when all except the mate of the steamer were 
sound asleep, he saw through the lifting fog that the caisson was 
much inclined. It took considerable trouble and time to rouse the 
tired men and to start the fires under the boilers so as to go to the 
relief of the excited party on the caisson, who had been awakened at 
daybreak by being rolled involuntarily from their berths. “ That is 
caused by the ebb current,” said the engineer, to encourage his men. 
“ It scours on the south-east side; when the flood sets in and scours 
the north-west side, everything will be all right.” But when the 
latter came, contrary 1 6 his prediction, the caisson inclined still 
further, until it reached twenty-one degrees from the vertical. The 
engineer, as well as the men, were greatly relieved when the steamer 
sent life-boats to take them off; they got on board without loss of 
time by sliding down a rope. For four days the caisson was left to 
its fate, and no work could be done on it, as during flood tide the 
water entered from above (see following cut). 

Later, by the counter action of the flood-current, the caisson took 
a more upright position, about ten degrees from the vertical. Its 
height was increased six and a half feet before the May storms com¬ 
menced. When they abated on June 14th, and the working-party 
returned, they found that the scour caused by the storms had acted 
favorably; the caisson stood perfectly plumb and had sunk into the 
sand from seventeen to eighteen feet. 

The concrete filling was now commenced and the machinery put 
in order. A month later the water in the air-shaft and working- 
chamber was displaced by compressed air, and on August 4th the 
sinking of the caisson began. During the next two months the 


130 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


weather was fine, and the caisson was sunk nearly twenty-six feet 
farther into the sand, bringing it seventy feet below low-water mark 
— a considerably greater depth than the original plan contemplated. 

But while this work was going on, the height of the caisson and 
the amount of concrete filling was but slightly increased, and little 
was done to protect the caisson from the approaching October 
storms. During the May storms, when the upper edge of the caisson 
was twenty-two and one-half feet above low water, the seas ran so 
high as to entirely submerge it, yet the iron was carried only twenty- 



six feet above low water, and worse than this was the delay in the 
construction of the brick lining and concrete filling, difficult opera¬ 
tions, necessarily consuming much time. In the early part of Octo¬ 
ber the brick lining had not'been commenced, the concrete filling 
was only up to a level with the bottom of the sea, and the brush 
mattresses and rip-rap were still over thirty feet below low water. 










the rot hers and LI OUT-TOWER. 


131 


In addition, the weak wrought-iron sides were only braced with 
timbers not strong enough to resist the combined action of the wind 
and sea. 

The contractors were warned of these defects and deficiencies, but 
did not remedy them, preferring to continue the sinking of the cais¬ 
son, as, according to agreement, they could draw money by partial 
payments, the amounts being proportioned to the distance the cutting- 
edge penetrated the sand. 

Of course it was impossible to leave men on this insecure structure, 
so when bad weather caught them on October 9th, the working-party 
was compelled to run for a harbor. About three or four miles from 
the site, and toward the shore, the light-ship “ Bremen ” was moored 
on the Weser. At noon, on October 13th, 1881, when the lookout 
accidentally sighted the structure, it seem to him to suddenly disap¬ 
pear. lie could not believe his eyes. Grasping his telescope, he 
scanned the horizon closely, but could find nothing. The tide had 
risen to a height of sixteen and one-half feet, so that the ironwork 
projected only a little more than eight feet above the sea. The 
waves rolled heavily over the structure, breaking or knocking out 
the iron braces, and the whole work, with the boilers and machinery 
collapsed. It was reported that the caisson, after penetrating forty 
feet of sand, had struck a layer of semi-fluid silt, and dropped out of 
sight. Pictures illustrating this story were printed and circulated. 

When fine weather permitted an examination of the site by divers, 
it was found that the iron mouth of the caisson had been broken off 
seven feet above the bottom of the sea, and that the boiler and 
machinery had fallen toward the lee side (south east) of the structure. 

The expenditures had been $07,500 to date; of this amount the 
contractors lost $31,250, their own capital; those who furnished the 
materials and loaned money lost $4G,250, and finally, the Govern¬ 
ment $20,000, for the total amount ($45,000) of all installments pre¬ 
viously paid was only secured by a bond of $25,000. 

So ended the first attempt to erect a light-house in the breakers 
of the “ lied Sand ” Shoal. 


132 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


Tiie following March (1882) Herr Hanks asked thellarkoort Com¬ 
pany if they would make a trial to erect a light-house at this locality, 
and this company, in June, submitted a bid in accordance with their 
original project. The contract was signed on September 21. The 
total price for the complete structure, ready for occupancy, but exclu¬ 
sive of the lens and illuminating apparatus, amounted to $213,500, 
which was later increased by $3,250 on account of alterations made 
in the height and construction of the upper part of the tower. 

The mistakes and errors of omission made at the first trial were of 
great value to the Harkoort Company — the general plan remained 
the same and it only remained to execute the details in the proper 
manner to ensure success. 

While the contract was under discussion all the necessary draw¬ 
ings for the details of the caisson and of the special apparatus were 
prepared, so the work was commenced immediately after the signing 
of the contract. 

The structure consisted, generally speaking, of two parts — the 
foundation and the tower. The first, of course, was the only part 
which offered any engineering difficulties. 

To build this foundation a caisson was used which, after beinsr sunk 
to the required depth, was to be filled with masonry and concrete, on 
which the tower could be erected. The caisson, in plan, resembled 
a section of a bi-convex lens. It was thirty-six feet eight inches 
wide, forty-six feet eight inches long, and sixty-one feet eight inches 
high when it was towed to the site; this height was gradually in¬ 
creased during the sinking to one hundred and seven feet six inches. 

The caisson was made of boiler iron four-tenths inches in thick- 
ness, was well braced vertically and horizontally, and none but the 
best material was employed in its construction. It was calculated to 
withstand a hydrostatic pressure produced by a column of water 
twenty feet high. 

Eight feet four inches above the cutting edge of the caisson was 
an iron diaphragm, forming the top of the working-chamber, carried 
by two longitudinal and twelve cross girders. This was also very 


THE ROT HERS AND LIGHT-TOWER. 


133 


strongly braced to the walls by a great number of iron brackets. 
From its centre rose the cylindrical air-shaft, three feet four inches 
in diameter, provided with an air-lock. 

This air-lock had four chambers—two for the use of the men and 
two for the supply and discharge of material, and was provided 
with a steam winch for hoisting the sand. Besides, there were six 
pipes to be used for blowing out the sand if it were found practical 
to use this more expeditious method. 

The upper part of the caisson was divided into four stories. The 
first, or lowest, was for mixing concrete; the next was the machinery 
floor, and carried two boilers, one air-compressor, a surface condenser, 
a centrifugal pump, the coal, and fresh water, and the steam-pipes 
leading to the two steam hoisting-cranes, to the compressor, and to 
the winch of the air-lock. 

On the third floor were two sleeping-rooms and store-rooms ; from 
this floor access was gained to the air-lock. The top story carried 
two revolving steam cranes. 

As the work progressed the upper three floors would have to be 
raised from time to time, and it was important that this should be 
done without interfering with the other work. 

This was accomplished by suspending the two upper floors by four 
long and strong screws to the vertical ribs of the caisson, which were 
made higher for this purpose. The second floor was suspended from 
the fourth by four other screws, and there was another screw in the 
centre of the fourth floor for raising the air-lock. 

By means of these nine screws, all worked from the top floor, the 
raising of the floors, with everything on them, was effected by a few 
men without delay to the work. 

This was a far superior arrangement to that previously adopted, 
which required the cessation of all work while the platform was 
being raised, and in addition, the interior wooden bracing of the 
caisson was always much in the way. 

When the caisson reached the Red Sand Shoal it was to be sunk 
to a depth of about seventy-three feet below mean low water, and 


134 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSE. 

then filled with concrete and masonry to six and two-thirds feet 
above the same level. * 

This foundation was to support a tower with a circular base of 
thirty-four and two-thirds feet, the offset, round the foot of the tower 
being covered with strong cast-iron plates securely fastened to the 
foundation. To a height of twenty-six and two-thirds feet above the 
foundation the tower is trumpet-shaped. At this height its diameter 
is reduced to twenty-three and one-third feet, and this part is solid 
masonry except the spaces left for cisterns and for the float of the 
tide-guage. 

The portion above the cellar was to be lined with a twenty-one 
inch brick wall, and have a fireproof ceiling of corrugated iron and 
concrete. 

The upper stories were to have an iron shell with a double 
wooden lining, lathed and plastered. 

Above the living-room is an iron gallery eighty-one and two-tliirds 
feet above low water, and at this height the tower is reduced in 
diameter to seventeen feet. 

Two of the three semicircular dormers, or small towers, at the 
gallery level contain range lights, and the third is used as a watcli- 
room. One also contains the stairway leading to the gallery and 
lantern of the main light. The latter is eleven feet in diameter, and 
is covered by a copper roof on which is the ventilator one hundred 
and two and two-tliirds feet above low water. 

The following is the method employed in transporting the caisson 
to the site: 

The depth of water in the harbor and on the shoals, over which 
the caisson was to pass on its way to the site permitted a draft of 
only twenty-three and one-third feet, and in calculating the stability 
of the caisson the probability of encountering a moderate storm was 
taken into account. 

It was assumed that the caisson would be safe and not capsize 
when subjected to a wind pressure of about two hundred pounds to 

the square yard — corresponding to a wind velocity of one hundred 

1 See page 130. 


THE ROTHERSAND LIGHT-TOWER. 


135 


feet per second. The caisson was to carry all the machinery previ¬ 
ously mentioned, which was to be so arranged that work could be 
commenced as soon as the caisson was sunk on the shoal, and at the 
same time it was to be placed as low as possible so as to lower the 
centre of gravity of the floating mass. 

To accomplish this the bulkheads on which the machinery floor 
rested were provided with four hinged rectangular frames which, 
when raised vertically, supported the floor in a position ten feet 
higher. 

It was also important to build the iron shell as high as possible so 




that after the caisson was sunk it would project sufficiently above the 
water to prevent the entrance of the sea. Owing, however, to its 
great weight, this height did not exceed sixty-two and one-half feet, 
four and one-sixth feet higher than at the first trial. 

Sufficient ballast was added to bring the draft to twenty-three and 
one-third feet, but a careful calculation showed that the stability, with 
reference to the assumed wind-pressure, was not sufficient. The 
elongated shape of the caisson required more support at the 


























136 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


sides, and to attain this two pontoons were used. They were made 
of boiler-iron, air-tight, twenty-six and two-thirds feet long, six and 
two-thirds feet wide, and ten feet high, and had strong lugs fitting 
into concavities in the shell. Each was provided with a pump for 
admitting water and with an air-cock, which were so arranged as to 
be operated from the caisson. 

When the latter floated at twenty-three and one-third feet draft 
the pontoons sunk three and two-thirds feet into the water. When the 
caisson rolled, one pontoon sunk deeper than the other, counteracting 
the tendency of the structure to leave a vertical position. 

It will be seen from the preceding that the most important part of 
the execution of the work was the construction of the caisson with 
all the requisites for transportation, sinking by the pneumatic process, 
etc. 

The contract with the Government was signed in October, 1882, 
and on the 1st of April, 1883, the caisson was completed as de¬ 
scribed, and moored at Kaiserliaven ready for transportation. 

In the meantime, the necessary vessels and steamers required had 
been chartered; they consisted of the “ Palme ,” on which the men 
were to be quartered, and which was to be moored near the work. 
The “ Solide,” a tug which was to tow all vessels to Bremerhaven, 
in case the weather compelled them to make a harbor. Two solidly 
built sail-boats, the “ Leopoldine ” and “Maria” carried the men be¬ 
tween the “ Palme ” and the structure. In addition several vessels 
and the tug “ Otto ” were employed for carrying material, and kept 
a constant communication between Bremerhaven and the site. 

For the transportation of the caisson to the site, the “ Samson ” 
and the “ Nord See” the two strongest tugs of the North German 
Lloyd were chartered, and in addition the tugs “ Solide,” “ Her¬ 
cules ” and “ Otto,” were to assist if required. Three special tow 
lines, 4 8-10 inches in diameter, were constructed for the purpose; 
two were attached to the stem and one to the stern of the structure, 
about eleven feet below the surface of the water. 

The meteorological station at Hamburg had kindly promised to 


<0 



STTn (EH@lE(En 5 S OSH HIP IUKEDDIT STAHTON „ 

View from the South-West , showing the Rock as it appeared at the End of the Working Season , and the Method of Landing Men from the Schooner " La Ninth 




gft. nflHMjiuvu.ui 3 J WEjgjp, 

MIGHT STATION. 


PLAN OF ROCK 

and 

RELATIVE POSITION of the MEN'S QUARTERS. 

THE SCHOONER 

(LA INI 0 IN] F A 

AND HER MOORINGS . 


See page roi 


Buoy No S 4 (gn stnket 




‘Buoy No i , g* 

4 tot’ • i** tr 


Scale. 


Btwt/ No 5 4 tan stinker 



























































































































. 


































♦ 













































































































the roteersand light-tower. 


137 


telegraph daily the weather indications during April and May, and 
the state of the wind at Waugcroog and Neuwerk, two stations in 
the neighborhood of the shoal. The weather in April was so un¬ 
favorable that the station at Hamburg advised not to start until May 
14; this delay was very expensive to the contractors, as they had all 
the vessels and eighty men under pay during this time. 

On the 15th of May good weather was prophesied, but the flood-tiuc 

did not rise high enough to float the structure out of the harbor, and 

then the weather became bad again. 

© 

Finally, on the 25th of May favorable news was received from Ham- 
burg, and everything was got ready to start at 2.30 a. m. on the 26th. 
At 3.30 a. m. the tide had risen high enough to open the gates of the 
basin, and soon after the caisson, which nearly touched the sills 
and jambs of the gates, was towed into the Weser. Immediately 
afterwards the German flag was hoisted on the colossus. The tug 
“ Nord See ” was ready to take the hawser, and though it was difficult 
to overhaul the latter on account of its great weight and stiffness, this 
was quickly done. Then the “ Samson ” fastened its hawser to the 
“ Nord See,” and both headed for the site. The other steamers and 
sailing vessels, nine in all, accompanied the tow, making quite a fine 
naval pageant. The contractors’ steamer headed the procession, 
indicating the deepest channel, and thus all shoals were passed 
in safety. Quietly and majestically the caisson floated down the 
Weser with the ebb-currcnt, and so quickly that it arrived at 
Droorgat at 7.15 A. M. The strength of the ebb had greatly 
diminished, and as it was impossible to reach the site before the tide 
changed, the caisson was anchored near the Eversand shoal to wait 
for the next high water at 4 p. M. 


The flood-current increased so much by 11 A. M. that the anchors 
of both tugs commenced to drag. Their engines were quickly started 
and the “ Solide ” was called to their assistance, but as all three could 
not prevent the caisson from drifting, the “ Hcrkules ” was also 
called upon. The combined strength of these four steamers, about 
350 horse-power, held the caisson and when the flood diminished 


138 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


they were enabled to proceed, so that at 2.30 p. m. the caisson 
reached the Ilohewev Light-house and came to anchor again. 
Hardly had it arrived when a signal from the Light-liouse an¬ 
nounced the arrival of a telegram from Hamburg, stating that the 
wind would change to north, and that squalls were approaching from 
England. In a short time clouds commenced to rise, the skv turned 
the color of sulphur, the sea got rough, rain and wind followed, and 
at 4.50 r. M. the fleet was in the centre of a storm, which caused great 
anxiety. However, the caisson stood the storm remarkably well, 
rolling very little as the pontons gave it excellent support. 

This storm prevented the continuance of the journey, the watch 
on the caisson, twelve men, were relieved by others, and by 8 p. M. 
the whole fleet was got ready for the night. 

The delay was troublesome, as at every change of the tide the 
caisson swung round and had to be guided by the tugs; this 
manoeuvre was difficult to execute in the darkness, but was success¬ 
fully accomplished. 

The following day the weather was bad, and the start was post¬ 
poned until, the succeeding one at 7.30, a. m. when the anchors were 
weighed and the seaward journey rc-commenced. When, as the 
report has it, “ in spite of the rough sea, the colossus parted the 
water with ease, wind and water did not affect his majestic dignity.” 

At 9 a. m. the Bremen Light-ship was passed, at 9.30 the danger¬ 
ous “ Botlien Grand,” and at 10 the tow arrived at the place where 
a wreck buoy located the position of the former ill-fated caisson. 

A little over twelve hundred yards below where this caisson was 
wrecked a buoy, painted black, white and red marked the spot where 
the tower was to be erected. 

The Harbor-Master and the Chief-Engineer boarded the caisson; 
slowly and carefully the tugs brought the structure nearer and 
nearer, and when about one hundred yards distant from the buoy — 
exactly at eleven o’clock — the raising of the flag on the caisson 
gave the signal for all anchors to be dropped overboard. Both 
valves for admitting water to the caisson were opened, and the 


THE ROT HERS AND LIGHT-TOWER. 


139 


latter slowly and steadily, and perfectly plumb, sank to the bottom 
of the sea. A slight shock, at 11:15, indicated that it landed on 

Rother *,,,*4 Lijht /feu**. . * the shoal * A second time the flag 

was raised and was greeted with 
loud cheers by all who witnessed 
the performance. 

The heavy hawsers were removed, 
and the large tugs left the site and 
returned to Bremen. The most 
pressing work was now to release the 
pontons which were invisible, being 
about two yards below the surface 
of the water. By opening the 
valves sufficient water was admitted 



7 

tSect’orx . 


—* 7 »* 


==• *7'** into the pontoons to overcome their 

t 

buoyancy, they then began to sink, 
thereby disengaging themselves from 
the caisson. As soon as they were 
free the valves were closed again 
and both pontoons were sunk in the 
neighborhood where they soon after 
disappeared in the sand of the 
shoal. The increased current which 
was produced in the vicinity of the 
caisson at once scoured the shoal to 
a depth of three feet near by, dimin¬ 
ishing to nothing at a distance of one 
hundred yards. 

In addition, the first flood-current 
scoured a hole alongside of the 
caisson facing the current, inclining 
the caisson toward the north four 
degrees; during the following ebb current the south side was nndei- 

mined, and the caisson inclined the same amount to the south. In 

i See page 134. 









































140 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES . 


this manner, moving like a pendulum, the caisson sunk itself in four 
days more than six feet in the shoal. On the first of June the 
cutting edge was thirty-five feet below low water and the ceiling 
of the working-chamber commenced to bear upon the surface of 
the shoal. This self-sinking finally ceased entirely at thirty-seven 
feet below low water, when the large number of brush mattresses 
which had been sunk on the shoal prevented further scour. 

The remainder of the working season was devoted to sinking the 
caisson by the pneumatic process, to filling it with concrete and ma¬ 
sonry, to placing additional mattresses and rip-rap around it, and to 
building the iron shell as high as possible. On October 15, 1883, 
the cutting edge was fifty-two feet below low water, the concrete 
level was tliirty-six-and-two-tliirds feet above low water, the top of 
the masonry was eight-and-two-tliirds feet above low water, the upper 
edge of the highest completed section of the iron caisson, and also 
the height of the floor of the quarters for the temporary keepers 
was thirty-seven-and-one-quarter feet above low water, and finally 
the uppermost floor with the steam cranes, and also the upper edge 

of the unfinished section of the caisson was fortv-scven-and-one 

* 

quarter feet above low water, or ninety-nine-and-one-quarter feet 
above the cutting edge. On this day the workmen were compelled 
to leave the station as the strong southeast wind made it impossible 
to go near the caisson. The vessels anchored at the Eversand shoal 
to wait for better weather, but on October lGtli the weather became 
worse, and the wind and sea increasing in violence, they returned to 
Bremerhaven. On the 17th and 18th of October, 1883, it was storming 
as it did on October 13, 1881, when the first caisson was destroved. 
This time, however, but little damage was done. According to the 
reports of the two temporary keepers, stationed on the structure, a 
single wave, on the 18th of October, tore asunder one of the plates of 
the top section of the caisson and bent up two others which had not 
been bolted together, and were consequently liable to such destruc¬ 
tion. Two heavy boxes of bolts were blown from the upper floor, 
the caging around one of the steam cranes was greatly damaged, and 


THE ROTHERSAND LIGHT-TOWER. 


141 

one of tlie keepers was violently thrown by a wave to the floor of his 
room as he attempted to leave it. 

After this storm, which was followed by others of equal violence, 
but little work could be done during the winter. The air-lock and 
the machinery floor were raised so that the latter stood at a level 
twenty feet above low water. The masonry and concrete were also 
raised twenty and forty inches respectively, and a Pintsch gas appa¬ 
ratus with lantern and light visible six to seven nautical miles was 
erected. 

Work was commenced in February, 1884, and continued until 
November, with many interruptions from wind and weather. The 
required depth, seventy-three feet below low water, to which the 
caisson was to be sunk, was attained on the 21st of May, 1884, one 
year after the caisson was launched at the site, and at the same time 
the level of the concrete and masonry had reached a height of three 
feet four inches above low water. Over two thousand cubic yards 
of sand, in addition to that which had leaked into the working-cham¬ 
ber from without, was all removed from the latter by the sand blast. 
The sand was very fine and mixed with small shells. A layer of 

stones was reached when near the required depth, but as it was not 

0 

necessary to remove them; no use was made of the steam crane in 
the air-lock. 

In June the machinery and boilers were removed, and by Novem¬ 
ber the solid substructure of the tower, the cellar, the storerooms 
and kitchen were completed, and a part of the exterioi walls of the 
living-room was put up. 

Good progress was also made in securing the sand around the 
foundation. According to contract, the latter was to be covered with 
brush mattresses thirty inches thick and over a width of fifty feet 
around the tower, held down by a layer of rip-rap twenty inches 
thick, first filling all depressions caused by the scour during the con¬ 
struction of the foundation. This scour was much greater than had 
been anticipated. 

This work was accomplished with great difficulty, and it was not 


142 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-UOUSES. 

until the middle of the following year that it was completed : sixty-six 
hundred cubic yards of mattresses and eight hundred cubic yards of 
stone were needed. t 

On December 2, 1884, Ilerr Krote, who represented the Govern¬ 
ment during the construction of the tower, wished to inspect it once 
more prior to a pleasure trip during the Christmas holidays, and 
left in company with the Constructing Engineer to stay but a short 
time. They had hardly made a landing when a storm arose which 
made it impossible to take off the inspecting party. At first they 
rather enjoyed their detention, but when days lengthened into weeks 
and there was still no possibility of release, the situation became 
grave, especially as they signalled that one of the men was seriously 
ill. Finally, on December 21, with the sea still running high, all 
were successfully taken off except two men who were left to act as 
keepers during the winter. 

Work was recommenced on April 12, 1885, the living-room and its 
three dormers, the lantern and the interior finish completed by 
August 10th and the main lens set up. 

The main light of the fourth order, with Otter’s revolving shut¬ 
ters, guides the incoming vessel first to the tower, and from there 
into the narrow channel leading to the Ilohcweg Lirdit-house. Each 
of these courses is marked by a fixed light, illuminating an arc of 
seven degrees toward the sea, and an arc of three-and-one-half de¬ 
grees toward the river (see chart). 1 In passing the limit to either 
side of these courses the fixed main light changes to a flashing light. 
The distance from the tower, where a vessel approaching the light 
has to change its course, is indicated by two fifth-order lights, one 
in the northwest, the other in the south dormer, about seventeen feet 
below the main light. The intensity is so regulated that they only 
appear to the naked eye as separate lights at a distance of two-and- 
one-half nautical miles from the tower: at a greater distance thev 
cannot be distinguished as they are overpowered by the main light. 
Finally, another light of the fifth order was placed in the dormer 
containing the stairs, to locate the range on which vessels, eomin" 

from the Island of Heligoland, enter the mouth of the Weser. 

1 See page 135. 


THE ROTUERSAND LIGHT-TOWER. 


143 


The base of the structure, for a height of twenty-seven feet, is 
painted black, and the tower above, with alternate red and white 
bands fourteen feet wide. This makes the tower so conspicuous that 
it can be seen on a clear day for a distance of twelve nautical miles. 

By the end of August the upper part of the caisson was taken 
down ; in September the tower was connected to the shore by an 
electric cable, and on October 23, 1885, the tower was accepted by 
the Government. 

This is, I believe, the first light-house erected at a long distance 
from land which does not rest on a rock foundation. 


CHAPTER XII. 


FOURTEEN-FOOT BANK LIGHT-HOUSE, DELAWARE 

BAY. 

F ourteen - Foot Bank 

Slioal is situated on the 
west side of tlie main chan¬ 
nel. about miles from the 
Delaware shore, 10^ miles 
northeast of the mouth of Mis- 
pillion Creek, and 14^ miles 
north 51° 15' west from Cape 
May Light. 

This shoal, which is a turn- 

Fourteen-foot Shoal Light. in S P oint in the navigation of 

the bay, was marked in 1876 by a glit-ship. Owing to floating ice, 

the liglit-ship could not remain at her station during the winter 
months, when it is very important to have the location of the shoal 
defined. 

In 1882, the year after the disaster to the first caisson attempted 
to be placed on the Rotliersand shoal, the Light-house Board of the 
United States considered the desirability of replacing the liglit-ship 
by a permanent structure, and several projects for the foundation 
pier were entertained. They all embraced the general features of a 
cast-iron pier filled with concrete. Different forms of vertical section 
for the pier were proposed and discussed; finally in 1883, a cylinder, 
73 feet in height and 35 feet in diameter, was adopted by the Board, 
on the recommendation of Major D. P. Heap, Engineer Secretary of 
the Board. 

This cylinder was to be composed of 1| inch cast-iron plates. 6 























ROTHERSANT) EIGHT. (SECTION’.') 

See page 137 


21 



4 






































FOURTEEN-FOOT BANK LIGIIT-UOUSE. 145 

feet in height, with 6 -inch horizontal and vertical flanges, If inches 
in thickness; it was also required that these flanges be planed so 
that the joints could be made water-tight. 

A cylinder such as recommended presented the advantage of 
simplicity of construction; all the plates, being of the same size, 
would be interchangeable, a decided help in putting the cylinder 
together at the site. 

By Acts of Congress, approved August 7, 1882, and March 3, 

1883, the Board had, at its disposal, the sum of $175,000 for the en¬ 
tire completion of this work. 

The contract for furnishing the metal-work of the cylinder was 
awarded to the G. W. & F. Smith Iron Company, of Boston, Mass., 
who delivered it on the Government Pier at Lewes, Del., on July 19, 

1884. 

The general figure of the shoal is oval in plan ; its length, measured 
up and down stream between the 24-foot curves, is 5,720 feet, while 
its width is 1,300 feet. The least water at low tide was 20 feet. 
Borings were made to the depth of 26 feet. The material penetrated 
was very fine, dark sand, mixed with shells, and was so compacted 
that a strong water-jet was necessary to force down the 4-inch 
wrought-iron tube used in making the borings. It will be noticed 
that the depth of water and the nature of the bed of the sea were 
nearly the same here as at Rothersand. 

The average rise and fall of the tide were found to be 6 feet, and 
the maximum velocity of the current about 2 miles per hour. 

On the 20 th of December, 1884, bids were invited to build and sink 
the cylinder so that its bottom would be 23 feet below the surface of 
the shoal: this would place it on the same level as the bottom of the 
adjacent main channel in its deepest part; bidders were not re¬ 
stricted to any one plan for sinking the cylinder, but were allowed to 
use any process they pleased subject to the approval of the Board, 
and were required to give security that in case the metal-work was 
lost or injured from any cause while in their hands, they would make 
good the loss to the Government. 


146 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

The bid of Messrs. Anderson & Barr, of New York City, in the 
sum of $38,900, was accepted, and as security they deposited $20,000 
with the Treasurer of the United States; they proposed to use the 
pneumatic process, the Government furnishing the cylinder and the 
cement required for 2,000 cubic yards of concrete. 

For a working-chamber they built a square wooden caisson on 
which the cylinder was to rest, its details are shown in the drawing, 
[see illustrations] as this caisson was 10 feet high its lower edge had 
to penetrate the sand to a depth of 33 feet, in order to bring the 
bottom of the cylinder to the stipulated depth. 

It was built of 12 x 12 inch yellow pine, and lined with 1£ inch 
tongued-and-grooved stuff, laid in white-lead. The joints of all ad¬ 
joining timbers were caulked and filled with mineral pitch; a 
sheathing of 2-incli yellow-pine planks was placed on the outside. 
Work on the caisson was commenced on the beach at Lewes, Del., in 
the latter part of May, 1885; to facilitate launching the caisson in 
shoal water a temporary water-tight bottom was built; in launching, 
this bottom leaked, and compressed-air was used to keep out the 
water. When launched, the caisson was moored alongside the Gov¬ 
ernment pier, and three sections of cylinder plates put on by means 
of a boom-derrick, which was secured to the air-shaft and the roof of 
the caisson. The lowest section was securely bolted to the woodwork 
below, and the joint caulked with oakum. The joints between the 
plates, which had been accurately planed, were coated with red lead 
before being bolted together. About 9 inches of concrete were then 
placed on top of the caisson to depress the centre of gravity. The 
displacement was then abdut 400 tons, and the draught was 15£ feet; 
the caisson was then towed by two tugs, in six hours, to the site, dis¬ 
tant nearly 20 miles. 

The contractors had chartered the hulk of the old steamer “ Moro 
Castle” and had moored it at the site by G anchors ; this vessel was 
200 feet long, 30 feet beam, and drew 14 feet of water; 80 tons of 
coal, GOO barrels of cement, 3 sections of cylinder plates, and the 
sections of the air-shaft were stowed below deck. The deck carried 


« 

FOURTEEN-FOOT BANK LIGIIT-HOUSE. 147 

all the machinery, sand, broken-stone, timber, and kitchen and quar¬ 
ters for the. officers and men. A boom-derrick, with a reach of 30 
feet and lifting 2 tons, was secured amidships. 

The following is a list of the machinery on board: 

1. A locomotive boiler, with 18 square feet of grate and 400 square 
feet of heating-surface, and carrying GO pounds pressure: this proved 
too small. 

2. A feed-pump, connecting with the hot-well of the surface-con¬ 
denser, with the fresli-water tanks and with the sea. 

3. A surface-condenser, connected with all the engines and pumps. 

4. A 2-cylinder hoisting-engine, with cylinders inches in 
diameter and 9 inches stroke: the diameter of the rope-drum was 16 
inches, and was geared to the engine in the ratio of 1 to 5. 

5. A Delamater air-compressor, having 2 steam-cylinders of 8 
inches diameter, and air-cylinders, 10 inches diameter and 1G inches 
stroke. A maximum velocity of 120 revolutions per minute was re¬ 
quired to blow the sand out of the caisson. 

6. A Clayton air-compressor of the same capacity as the one above 
named; this was used to relieve the other while under repair. Both 
compressors were provided with water-jackets around their cylinders. 
The air was forced through water in a cvlindrical cooler 2 feet 9 
inches in diameter and 5 feet 4 inches high, and through a 2^-inch 
rubber-hose, to the upper end of the air-shaft. Gauges on the cooler 
indicated the water-level in it and the air-pressure. There was a 
check-valve also where the air entered the shaft. The air in the air¬ 
lock and in the upper part of the shaft became intensely hot, because 
no provision had been made for circulating water through the cooler; 
the workmen suffered considerably on this account. 

7. A portable centrifugal pump, with 4-inch suction and discharge, 
and connected to the boiler and surface-condenser with hose. I his 
pump was used as a bilge pump. 

8. A duplicate of the above was used to furnish water for mixing 
concrete. 

9 . An air-iock large enough to admit 4 men at one time; it was 

w w 




148 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


made of boiler-iron, and had a cast-iron cylinder supply-lock of one 
cubic yard’s capacity. 

After the caisson was moored at the site it was quickly sunk by 
letting water into the cylinder through 6-inch valves. This water 
was partly replaced by broken stones as the latter were supplied by 
the schooner, and when the weight became sufficient the water was 
pumped out by the centrifugal pump, and the broken stone in the 
cvlinder was made into concrete. 

On July 17 the regular mixing of concrete was commenced ; this 
work was done either on the hulk or on the schooners that brought 
the broken stones: on July 23, when the weight of the structure was 
about 500 tons greater than that of the displacement, the air-lock was 
bolted to the air-shaft, connections were made with the compressor, 
and the water was forced from the shaft and working-chamber. 

The current produced a considerable scour as soon as the caisson was 
grounded; this continued until the caisson had sunk about 8 feet, and 
until its roof rested upon a mound of sand. The cutting edge of the 

i 

caisson did not rest upon the shoal for a considerable part of its 
length, and at times the cylinder was 12° out of plumb; the scour 
was 10 feet deep near the caisson, and extended over an area of 
70 feet in diameter. It will be noticed that the action of this 
cylinder was almost identical with the one sunk in the “ Rothersand.” 

The working party in the caisson consisted of three gangs of eight 
men each, each gang working for eight hours, with a rest for meals 
after four hours work; they carried paraffine candles in their hats to 
light them at their work. 

The sand was collected at the bottom and blown by the air-pres¬ 
sure through a 4-incli wrought-iron pipe which connected the work¬ 
ing-chamber with the outside air, and which was provided with two 
cocks, one in the chamber, the other on the outside of the shaft. The 
sudden diminution of the air-pressure when blowing out the sand 
caused such a condensation of the moisture in the air in the working 

O 

chamber as to make it so foggy that the men could see but 2 or 3 
feet, and the blowing had to be limited to a half or a quarter of a 


FOURTEEN-FOOT BANK LIGHT-HOUSE. 


m 

minute’s duration at a time, The blow-pipe was at first made with 
a bend to throw the sand into the sea. This caused the pipe to 
choke and occasioned much delay. Afterward the sand was blown 
out vertically and either fell into the sea, the cylinder, or the hulk, 
where it did much damage to the machinery. This was remedied 
later by stretching a stout canvas over the pipe. 

Sinking was continued at the rate of from 1 to 2 feet a day until 
July 31, when the cutting edge of the caisson had penetrated 18 
feet and when the door of the air-lock was nearly at the level of high 
tide. The air was then allowed to escape, the shaft extended, the 
air-lock replaced, and the concrete increased to a depth of 37£ feet. 
The water was then forced out of the working-chamber, and on 
August 18 the work of sinking was resumed, and by the 28th, the 
cutting edge had reached the required depth, viz., 33 feet 4 inches 
below the original surface of the shoal. The kind of material pene¬ 
trated changed at the level of 29 feet, the remaining 4 feet being 
clean, coarse, sharp, yellow sand mixed with considerable coarse 
gravel. 

The resistance to sinking was so great during the latter part of the 
time that it was found necessary to diminish the air-pressure suddenly 
in order to facilitate the descent. The men remained in the working- 
chamber at these times. 

The cutting edges were then tightly under-rammed, the working- 
chamber and air-shaft packed with sand, and the latter sealed with 
concrete at a level of 30 feet 4 inches above the caisson roof. The 
air-shaft was then taken off at a height of 38 feet 7 inches above the 
caisson, and the remainder of the 2,000 cubic yards of concrete were 
put in place, raising the concrete to a level of 13 feet 11 inches 
below the upper edge of the cylinder. The contractors, after erect¬ 
ing a mast from which the crew of the Fourteen-Foot Bank Light¬ 
ship were to show a lantern at night, left the site on September 10. 
Three foremen, two engineers, two firemen, thirty laborers and one 
cook were employed on the work. 

At one time a rather curious accident occurred. During a hcavv 


150 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


blow from the southward, the old hulk parted her moorings and com¬ 
menced drifting directly toward the cylinder, which was then 8 or 10 
feet above the water, but only filled with concrete to the water-level* 
Several of the men immediately jumped on the cylinder, and, sitting 
on the upper flange, which was about G inches wide, dropped fenders 
between the cylinder and the sides of the hulk to soften the blow. 
The hulk came against the cvlinder so as to give it a glancing blow 
or push and then sheered off. The men essayed to jump on board, 
but to their astonishment several were unable to do so. When the 
hulk struck, she forced open the joints between the plates of the 
cylinder, which, immediately closing when relieved from the pressure, 
caught and securely anchored the men by the seats of their breeches. 
The involuntary prisoners had to decide promptly, for their home 
was drifting from them, so they, with one accord, gave one arriere 
pensee, tore their trowsers and jumped on board. 

The bids received for finishing the cellar story in accordance with 
the approved plan not being reasonable in amount, the Board decided 
to build a temporary frame house of two rooms and a platform, from 
which to show a fourth-order light, until the work on the superstruc¬ 
ture should begin during the following season. This light was first 
shown on October 24, and during the winter was maintained by two 
men employed as temporary keepers. It proved of much value to 
navigation, as its range and visibility were greater than those of the 
adjacent light-ship, which besides in winter was necessarily off her 
station. 

One thousand tons of rip-rap were placed around the cylinder to 
prevent any additional scour. Soundings made the following March 
showed no change in the shoal around the pier ; an unequal settle¬ 
ment of one inch had taken place during the winter. Brush mattresses 
were not used here; they would not only have been costly, but they 
would also have prevented the stone from sinking through the sand, 
and thus holding the pier securely in place. 

During the winter plans were prepared for the superstructure 
under the direction of Major Heap. This superstructure consists of 


FOURTEEN-FOOT BANK LIGIIT-IIOUSE. 


151 


a twoscoiy cast-iron dwelling, surmounted by a fourtli-order lantern, 
secured to a cast-iron gallery floor, supported by iron columns and 
girders and brick arches and walls, resting upon the concrete filling 
of the pier. 

The cellar story is arranged for a Daboll trumpet and duplicate 
hot-air Ericsson engines, cast-iron water-tanks, brick compartments 
for fuel, provisions and oil, the latter having iron doors and ventila¬ 
tors so arranged as to close automatically in case of a fire and thus 
smother the conflagration. 

It was found that the structure trembled somewhat from the shock 
of the waves, so 2,000 additional tons of rip-rap were placed around 
it to increase its stability. 

This Light Station was entirely completed in the spring of 1887. 
Its entire cost, including examination of site, experimental work, 
rip-rap, lens, fog-signal, superintendence and contingencies of every 
nature, amounted to $123,811.45, more than $50,000 less than the 
sum appropriated. 

A red sector indicates the location of the Joe Flogger shoal; this 
sector, combined with red sectors of Cross Ledge Light, clearly 
defines the main channel as far as the Ship John shoal light. An¬ 
other red sector marks the Brown shoal; it is to the south of the 
Brandywine shoal light, and materially assists the navigation of the 
lower bay. 

Cast-iron cylinders filled with concrete have also been successfully 
used on rocks nearly awash and on sub-marine sites in shallow 
water where the foundation was stable; they are less costly and in 
some respects superior to masonry piers, as they are easily and 
quickly placed in position, and they have no joints into which water 
can penetrate and freeze, thus forcing out the mortar, as is the case 
with piers built of stone. Their circular form also simplifies their 
construction and adapts itself perfectly to a circular tower. 

The sketches show several liglit-houses of this type; the towers 
are also of cast-iron lined with brick; they are three stories high 


152 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

exclusive of the cellar, and contain all the necessary room for the 
accommodation of two keepers. 

The Stamford light rests on the south-west extremity of Harbor 
Ledge in Stamford Harbor, Conn.; the pile pier shown in the sketch 
is a temporary structure used in the construction of the light. 

The Whale Rock light is on a rock at the entrance to Narragan- 
sett Bay, Rhode Island; the sea is frequently so violent here as to 
throw solid water as high as the top of the pier, while the spray 
flies entirely over the tower. 

The one at Sharp’s Island, Md., is in the much quieter waters of 
Chesapeake Bay and rests on sand, the scour being prevented by 
rip-rap. 

One great advantage of this type of foundation over screw-pile 
structures is that the former can successfully resist the impact of ice. 

CAPE HATTERAS. 

For many years the subject has been agitated of establishing a 
light-liouse on the Outer Diamond Shoal, off Cape Ilatteras. This 
shoal is about eight miles from land, and in such stormy waters that 
it is next to impossible to maintain a liglit-vessel on or near it. All 
the sea-going commerce between the Northern and Southern States 
has to round this point, and it is proverbially the most dangerous 
place on the Atlantic coast. 

There is, of course, a light on Cape Ilatteras, but the shoal is so 
distant that it is very difficult to estimate its locality, south-bound 
vessels to avoid the current of the gulf-stream have to pass close to 
it, and it has the gloomy reputation of causing more wrecks and dis¬ 
asters than any other place in America. 

The success with the Rothersand and Fourteen-foot Bank Light¬ 
houses, in my opinion, point the way to obtaining a secure foundation 
in these shifting sands, and I believe that the solution of the problem 
consists in building a steel or cast-iron cylinder forty-five feet in 
diameter, sinking it on the shoal so that its base will be below any 
possibility of wave-action, filling it with concrete, and protecting it on 
the exterior by the liberal use of rip-rap in large blocks. 


ROTHERSA^D EIGHT. (VIEW.) 
See page 142 


28 





\ 






























. 




' 






" 










. 





. 





































CAPE IIATT ERAS. 


153 


+ 81 ’ > 

1 



v 




















































































154 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

The cylinder should be double, the inner cylinder being fifteen 
feet in diameter and very strongly braced to the exterior one, the 
connection between the interior and exterior cylinder at the bottom 
should be conical in shape, and would answer for the working- 
chamber if the cylinder were to be sunk by the pneumatic process, 



though I believe it possible to sink it rapidly by dredging from the 
interior. The cylinder could be so built as to admit of 'either plan 
being used. 1 

At a suitable locality on the Outer Diamond, there is a depth of 
about twenty feet; the cylinder should be put together at some safe 

1 See sketches, paces 153 and 155. 















CAPE HATTERAS. 


155 

harboi , floated to this point and sunk as quickly as possible. I 
estimate that when the bottom of the cylinder reaches fifty feet below 
the surface of the shoal and the rip-rap is placed around it, it will be 
safe from the scour of the waves. 

One of the many difficulties attending this work is that the nearest 



/ 

























































































156 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


available harbor is Cape Hatteras Inlet, only fifteen feet deep and 
fifteen miles away. Should a storm overtake the cylinder while 
being towed to the site, it would, in all probability, be lost, and the 
same catastrophe might occur if there were a heavy blow during the 
first part of the sinking of the cylinder ; after it had gone down ten 
or fifteen feet the danger would be much less, and if the attending 
vessels were driven away by stress of weather, they might , have a 
reasonable assurance of finding the cylinder in place on their return. 
The power of the cylinder to resist the waves, before it was filled 
with concrete, would depend entirely on the strength of the interior 
bracing, and too much pains could not be expended in making this 
of the best design, material and workmanship. 

With the foundation once secured, it would be of no great difficulty 
to erect a suitable superstructure. 

Should this light-liouse be successfully established, it will be a re¬ 
markable feat of light-house engineering, and be of benefit to more 
commerce than any one light-house in the world. 

Barring accidents, the cast should not exceed $300,000 for the 
foundation, but it would not be safe to commence work without 
having at least $500,000 available. The accompanying sketches give 
a general idea of the plan and elevation of the kind of cylinder pro¬ 
posed. 

Congress will be asked this session to appropriate the necessary 
funds for this important work. 1 Should the appropriation be made, 
the foundation could be built and placed, barring accidents, in less 
than two years. 

1 Congress has not voted the necessary funds for this work up to the present 

time (Dec. 1, 1888). 


CHAPTER XIII. 


SKELETON IRON LIGIIT-HOUSES. 


Another type is the skeleton iron light-house: this is especially 
adapted to sites where it is desired to erect a lofty structure without 
too much weight; it may rest on iron-piles, screw-piles, grillage or 
other foundation, depending on whether the light-house stands in the 
water or on land, and whether the site is rock, stiff clay, sand, earth 
or mud. 

The two finest liglit-houses of this kind, which rest on iron-piles 
driven in coral rock, are those erected on Fowey Rocks and Ameri¬ 
can Shoals, Florida. They arc duplicates of each other, the first one 
built being the one at Fowey Rocks on the east coast of Florida, at 
the northern extremity of Florida Reefs. 

Examinations to test the character of this reef were made in 1875 ; 
the engineer reported : It was with the greatest difficulty and delay 
that a sailing vessel could reach the spot in weather sufficiently calm 
to do any work. The rock composing the reef is harder than that 
farther south and west, and it is believed will furnish a secure 
foundation for the kind of structure decided upon.” During the same 
year the designs for the light-house were well advanced, and pre¬ 
liminary works connected with the erection of the light-house were 
begun. These consisted in building at Soldier Key, four-and-one- 
lralf miles distant from the reef, a substantial wharf with track, store- 


158 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


house and quarters: all these buildings had to be raised six feet above 
the surface and strongly secured, as during hurricanes the sea sweeps 
entirely over the surface of the Key. At the site the working plat¬ 
form was completed, and contract was made for the delivery of the 
ironwork for the foundation and first stories of the light-house, which 
was delivered at Soldier Key in the spring of 18?w, and during the 
same year all the foundation-piles were driven as follows: 

The disc for the central foundation-pile was first lowered to its 
place, and through this disc the first iron-pile was driven. One of 
the perimeter discs was then placed in position and located by a 
gauge consisting of a heavy iron I-beam, lying on the bottom between 
and in immediate contact with the edges of both discs, and then the 
first perimeter-pile was driven through the centre of this disc. The 
greatest precaution had to be taken to drive these piles vertically; 
hence, after each blow of the hammer the pile was tested with a 
plummet, and the slightest deviation from the vertical was rectified 
by tackles, used as guides, fastened to the top of the pile. Each 
iron-pile was driven about ten feet into the rock. In locating the 
disc for the next perimeter-pile, two gauges were necessary, one to . 
obtain the proper distance from the central pile, the other to main¬ 
tain the proper distance from the perimeter-pile just driven; and 
these two gauges were alike except in length. The discs were 
dragged along the bottom until their outer edges just touched the 
free edges of the gauges. Each pile was then driven through the 
centre of its disc. After all of them were driven, their tops were 
levelled by cutting off each to the line of the lowest. The piles were 
then capped with their respective sockets; the horizontal girders 
were inserted, the diagonal tension-rods were placed and screwed up, 
and the foundation series was completed. This work, including the 
building of the temporary platform occupied just two months, during 
which time the sea was quite smooth. 

Owing to various delays in the manufacture of the superstructure 
it did not arrive at Soldier Key until November 12, 1877. The 
weather preceding its arrival and for three months after was unfavor- 


I 


SKELETON LIGIIT-HOUSES. 159 

able for its erection. Gale followed gale, and though a large force of 
workmen was at Soldier Key ready to work when weather per¬ 
mitted, nothing could be done. For six weeks there was but one day 
on which a landing could be effected at the light-house site. This day 
was utilized by laying a decking of four-inch plank on the wooden 
platform. Finding the weather still unfavorable, with no immediate 
prospect of getting to the site, and all the shore-work completed, it 
was decided on December 13,1877, to temporarily suspend operation. 

On February 24, 1878, the weather appearing more favorable for 
reef-operation, work was resumed; the party arrived at the site on 
the 25th February, and encountered a tornado which considerably 
damaged the vessels. 

One of the lighters, a small schooner, capable of carrying twenty- 
five to thirty tons of freight on four feet draught of water, was loaded 
with the portable hoisting-engine, derrick, tackles, shear-poles and a 
small quantity of iron. The sea continued so rough that this load 
could not be landed until March 12, when a landing was effected 
through the breakers by means of small boats, and the derrick and 
shears erected on the platform. During the next sixteen days five 
more cargoes of iron wore landed, and the first series of columns, 
girders, sockets and tension-rods placed in position. 

It became evident from the slow progress thus far made, owing to 
stormy weather and the danger attending frequent landings through 
the breakers, that, unless a lodgement could be effected on the plat¬ 
form and the men be made to live thereon, the structure could not be 
completed within a year. Therefore, on March 29, the lighter was 
loaded with one month’s supply of provisions, water, etc., towed to 
the platform and its freight landed; two large tents were set up on 
the platform, a temporary kitchen built, and twenty men left to con¬ 
tinue the erection of the light-house. The advantages of this 
arrangement were very great. No matter how high the sea might 
be running, the men were there out of water, on a safe and steady 
foundation, and they could continue the work so long as they could 
be kept supplied with material. 


I 

160 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

The remainder of the force was employed in loading the lighter 
and steamer, and when the weather was favorable, in unloading the 
lighter at the platform On days that were too rough to unload the 
lighter, all hands would land at the site in small boats, if a landing 
was practicable, and assist in erection. By keeping the lighter 
loaded and steam on the tender day and night, no available time was 
lost. 

On June 15, 1878, the tower was completed and the light was ex¬ 
hibited. 

The cost of this light-house was about $175,000 



Another advantage of this type of light-house is the quickness 
with which it can be erected. At American Shoals the ironwork was 
completed at the North, shipped to Key West, Florida, and the 
light-house completely erected and lighted in one year. 

Both Fowcv Rocks and American Shoals Light-houses are first- 




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FOURTEEN-FOOT BANK LIGHT. 

See page 149 


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I 


SKELETON IRON LIGHT-HOUSES. 


161 


order lights, one kindred and fifteen and one-half feet high, and 
visible sixteen and one-fourtli nautical miles. 

There are several other liglit-houses of this type on the Florida 
Reefs, such as Carysfort Reef, Alligator Reef, Sombrero Key and 
Sand Key, all first-order lights, from one hundred and ten to one 
hundred and forty-four feet high. 

Florida is rich in first-order lights ; she has twelve in all, as many 
as Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York 
combined. 

In 1873 the old brick tower 
at Southwest Pass, Mississippi 
River, built in 1831, was re¬ 
placed by a skeleton iron 
structure. The old tower was 
in a dilapidated condition, 
had sunk several feet into 
the soft ground, was three or 
four from the perpendicular, 
and its light was of an infe¬ 
rior order compared with its importance. At this place, the great 
difficulty was to obtain a secure foundation on the soft and treach¬ 
erous alluvial formation of the Delta of the Mississippi. The plan 
adopted was as follows : 

The foundation is octagonal in shape and fifty-eight feet eight 
inches lesser diameter. It consists first of one hundred and eighty- 
five square piles driven four feet apart to a depth of thirty-three 
feet. At six feet below the tops of the piles, which are one foot below 
low water, a horizontal course of twelve-inch square timbers are 
notched into them. Below the timbers a mass of shell concrete two 
feet thick is rammed about the piles, and on the timbers rests a floor 
of three-inch plank. Above this floor are a second and third course 
of timbers notched into the piles and laid at right angles to each 
other and diagonally to the first course. A mass of concrete is 
forced into the interstices of the timbers and filled up to a height of 

















1G2 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


four feet above the third tier, bringing the top of the foundation 
eighteen inches above the main level of the water. The superstruc¬ 
ture is a skeleton iron tower composed of six series of eight cast-iron 
columns placed at the angles of an octagon and strongly braced and 



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E-I«clrii l—’ifjhP. . . NfvvVnr^. 


tied by wrought-iron rods. On the sixth series stand the watch-room 
and lantern, access to which is gained by a stairway winding round 
the axis of the tower and inclosed in a wrought-iron cylinder. The 















SCREW-PILE LIGHT-HOUSES. 


1G3 

keeper’s dwelling, two-stories high, rests on the first series of 
columns. 

The tallest skeleton tower in the Light-House Service was erected 
at Ilell Gate, Astoria, X. Y., in 1883—84. It is two hundred and 
fifty feet high and was intended to display nine electric lights of six 
thousand candle-power each to illuminate the channel. Its construc¬ 
tion is sufficiently well shown in the sketch. Within the legs of the 
structure are seen the engine and boiler house. When the lamps 
were lighted the effect was very beautiful. The tower was invisible 
and the lights had the appearance of an immense chandelier sus¬ 
pended in the heavens and flooding the scene with their brilliant 
light. 

At the explosion at Flood Rock in 1885 advantage was taken 
of this tower to photograph the explosion and get a plunging view 
on the rock. 

In 1886 this light was discontinued, as the pilots complained that 
it was so brilliant that it dazzled their eyes and prevented them from 
seeing objects beyond the light; also that the shadows were so heavy 
that they often assumed the appearance of obstacles. 

SCREW-PILE LIGHT-HOUSES. 

As previously mentioned, the principle of the screw-pile was 
invented by Alexander Mitchell, of England. The way tho founda¬ 
tion screw is made is shown in the accompanying sketch. The screw 
is fastened to the lower end of an iron pile and forced down by 
turning the pile. It is sometimes assisted by a water-jet. This 
style of foundation is especially adapted to sandy bottoms under 
water, but in my opinion iron-pile structures should only be used 
in southern waters where they would not be exposed to floating 
ice. 

There are a number of such structures in Chesapeake Bay, and 
the method of building has been the same in each case, the only 
difference being in the number of piles used, the bracing, and the 
style of superstructures. In several cases these light-houses have 


164 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES . 



Section, 

Foundation Screw-. 


been threatened with destruction by the ice, and it has been neces¬ 
sary to protect them with a ring of rip-rap placed at such a dis¬ 
tance from the light-house that it would 
act as an ice-breaker. 

The accompanying sketches show several 
of these structures. 1 The general plan of all 
is a one-story dwelling with lantern in the 
centre. Most of them are also provided 
with fog-bells rung by clock-work. The 
projecting piles, shown in some, partially 
serve the purpose of ice-breakers. A time- 
honored joke of the light-keepers is that 
they have fine fishing privileges and that 
they raise all their own vegetables. 

The “ Bug Light ’ 2 in Boston Harbor, 
officially known as “ The Narrows Light,’' 
built in 185G, is another example of this 
style. Fortunately for its stability the shoal 
on which it was erected lias so changed 
since the light was established that it is 
now seldom covered with water and the 
piles have been spared the shock of float¬ 




ing ice. 


jZ&'ation. 


On the east side of the dredged channel 
in Mobile Bay, Ala., an hexagonal screw- 
pile structure was built during the years 
1884-85. The bottom is soft mud, and 
on September 12, 1885, when the light¬ 
house was nearly completed, it commenced to settle, and went down 
bodily seven and a half feet. The subsidence was so nearly ccpial 
on each column that the inclination of the structure cannot be 
detected by the eye. d he actual difference in level between the 
extremes at the top of the foundation series is between three and 

four inches. No part of the structure was strained in the least. In 
i See pages 161 and 165. * See page 183. 














SCREW-PILE LIGHT-HOUSES. 


165 



order to prevent further subsidence, twelve creosoted piles were 
driven into the mud alongside of the structure and bolted to it. They 


































































166 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


were then cut oil at about the water level. Since then the light¬ 
house has sunk no further. 

LIGHT-HOUSES ON THE GREAT LAKES. 

On our “unsalted seas,” the great lakes, light-houses are as neces¬ 
sary as on our sea-coasts; on their shores timber of excellent quality 
is plentiful and cheap, and when submerged is practically indestructi¬ 
ble as it is not exposed to the greedy tooth of the ship-worm which 
so soon destroys any wooden structures, especially in our southern 
waters and in the Pacific. 

Advantage has been taken of this by army engineers in building 
numerous wooden piers, composed of cribs filled with stone, in their 
harbor improvements; and similar plans have been adopted in mak¬ 
ing the foundations for light-houses when the latter have to be 
placed in the water; an excellent type of light-house on a crib 
foundation is the one built in the mouth of Detroit River, Mich., 
during the years 1884-85. 

The Canadian Government had maintained a light-ship on Bar 
Point since 1875, but though useful, it was not adequate to the needs 
of commerce. It could be seen only a short distance, its lights were 
with difficulty distinguished from vessel lights near by, its location 
was of little service as a guide between the difficult shoals at the en¬ 
trance to the river inside its position, and it was liable to be driven 
from its station by ice or other causes. 

Congress made appropriations to the amount of $68,000 in the years 
1882-83 and 1885 for establishing a light-house and steam fog-signal 
at or near the mouth of Detroit River. 

The site was so selected that vessels from the Eastward passing 
Point Pelee and sighting the light, could steer directly for it and 
clear the dangerous shoal marked by the light-sliip ; that vessels from 
the south-west could use it as a range with the Bois Blanc 
(Canadian) light to clear the long spit off Point Mouillde, while there 
would be no dangers in front for vessels approaching from any inter¬ 
mediate point; and finally, that this same range with Bois Blanc 


LIGHT-nOUSES ON THE GREAT LAKES. 1G7 


light would also lead through the narrow buoyed channel in the 
mouth of the river. 

Soundings at the site showed that the bottom was generally quite 
level with a uniform depth of 22 feet. Borings gave approximately 
uniform results, the first three or four feet being composed of hard 
limestone, gravel and sand, very compact and difficult to penetrate, 



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AO A5j FEET 


then twelve feet of soft clay and fine sand, easily penetrated, and 
finally underlying the whole a bed of tough, hard blue clay, very dif¬ 
ficult to bore. No boulders were encountered. 

The general plan of the foundation is a crib of heavy timbers with 
a tight bottom; this crib is 90 feet long, 45 feet wide and 18 feet 
high, thus bringing its top to four feet below high water; it is filled 
with concrete flush to its top. 

This crib supports a pier 15 feet high of cut-stone masonry backed 


















































168 A NCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-E0USES. 

with concrete, the foot of the pier is nine inches back from the edge 
of the crib. 

On the southern end of the pier is a cast-iron conical tower sur¬ 
mounted by a fourth-order lantern; in this towei, the keepers 
'live. 

The fog-signal house, containing duplicate steam fog-signal appa- 



PLAM OF TOP OF PIEB. 



% 

ratus, is built of heavy framed timber covered on the exterior with 
two-inch planking and with inch boards on the inside, the space 
between is filled with mortar made of lime and sawdust. The roof 
and sides are covered with No. 18 corrugated iron, and the interior 
with No. 26 plain sheet-iron. 

The coal cellar is underneath the fog-signal house. 

Amherstburg, Ontario, was the most convenient point at which to 



















































































































FOURTEEX-FOOT BANK LIGHT. 

See page 150 















— 0 — 


.1 - 


FogclI Plane 



South Elevation 


-2V0 
























































































































































































































































































































" i 1' 












LIGHT-HOUSES ON THE GREAT LAKES. 169 

build die crib, and permission was obtained from the Governor-Gen¬ 
eral of Canada to construct the crib there and to introduce the 
necessary tools, materials, etc., free of duty. 

Framing the crib commenced on March 19, 1884, on July 1 it 
was completed and partly filled with concrete while floating at the 
wharf, on July 3, it was sunk in place, by September it was filled 
with concrete, on November 21 the last course of cut-stone was in 
place and backed with concrete; work was then suspended for the 
season, a temporary shelter was built and two men were left to 
display warning lights until the close of navigation. 

During the filling of the pier the settlement was uneven, and at 
the close of the working season it had reached nearly 16 inches. 

It was therefore decided to load the pier and leave it loaded 
during the winter with a much greater weight than it would ulti¬ 
mately have to stand. For this purpose 550 tons of rubble stone 
were distributed over the pier with a preponderance on the high 
side. The calculated weight to be borne ultimately was but 160 
tons. 

The settlement continued slowly for a while and then ceased ; 
when the men in charge of the lights left it was 18 inches, the pier 
was level and since then there has been no change. 

Work was resumed in May, 1885, the pier was paved, the various 
structures erected and the station entirely completed and lighted by 
August 20, of the same year. 

This light-house was built under the immediate direction of Captain 
C. E. L. B. Davis, Corps of Engineers, from plans prepared by hin 

On the completion of this light-house the Canadian light-ship n 
Bar Point was removed from her station. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHT-HOUSES. 

It is evident that if all light-houses exhibited the same kind of 
light, fixed white, for example, it would lead to confusion. A ma¬ 
riner, when he saw a light, could not determine which one of several 





it might be, especially if he were uncertain as to his reckoning. This 
difficulty was overcome by having different numbers of lights at 
neighboring light-stations. For example, on Little Brewster Island, 
Boston Harbor, there is one light, at Plymouth there are two lights, 
at the Gurnets, at Nauset Beach, Cape Cod, there are three lights, 
at Chatham two and at Monoir.oy Point one light. This device is 
both expensive and clumsy, and as the needs of commerce require 








CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHT-HOUSES. 171 

intermediate lights to be established from time to time these groups 
of lights lose in a measure their distinctive character. 

More modern science has devised other and better means for 
making the lights distinctive. This is done by changing the colors 
of the lights and by making them fixed or flashing or a combination 


n>cir)c;fon frioiq light. . 

Mijcris Ijlond, $• (, 

of the two. But two colors are used, white and red; the latter, color 
is obtained by using a chimney of ruby glass on the lamp or a pane 
of red glass outside the lens. Bed light penetrates fog better than 
any other color, and it is for this reason that it is used to the exclu¬ 
sion of the rest. 

Formerly the intensity of the light was increased by placing a 
slivered parabolic reflector behind the flame of the lamp, and in 
some light-houses reflectors are still used, but in most cases the lenses 
designed by Fresnel have been substituted. His original idea was 
to use a large central flame three and one-half inches in diameter 













172 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


and to arrange around it eight large plano-convex lenses three feet 
three inches high by two feet six inches wide, so as to refiact the 
light. 

This form of lens was improved by Condorcet for burning-glasses 
in 1788. If a lens three feet three inches in diameter were ground 
to a continuously spherical figure it would attain a great thickness 
at the axis and the loss of light by absorption in its passage through 
the thick glass, as well as by spherical aberration, would be consider¬ 
able. But light-house lenses are so formed as to avoid these disad- 
vantages. The figure shows a section and elevation of one panel of 
a lens. 

If a lens has eight of these panels it will send out radially eight 
beams of light, and if the lens is made to revolve the observer would 
see flashes alternated by dark intervals. This is known as a flashing 
white light. If alternate panels are covered with panes of red glass it 
would be flashing red and white. It will readily be seen that quite a 
number of characteristics can be made by altering the number of 
panels and by covering up more or less of them with red glass. 

The above is only suited to flashing lights. It was not until 
Fresnel extended his researches to the improvement of fixed lights 
that he completed the system of light-house illumination. He con¬ 
ceived the idea of forming a barrel of glass having the same profile 
as a vertical section through the axis of the lens just described. 
Such a lens allows the rays from a lamp in its centre to spread freely 
in a horizontal plane, wdiile it only refracts them vertically, thus 
producing a powerful band of light equally all round the horizon. 

If flash panels, consisting of a set of vertical prisms, be made to 
revolve around the above lens, it becomes fixed white varied by 
white flashes; if half of the flash panels are alternately covered with 
red glass, the characteristic would be fixed white, varied by red and 
white flashes. 

The flashing lights are further distinguished by the interval of 
time between the flashes. For example, Boston Light is flashing 
white every thirty seconds; Gay Head, on the western point of 


CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHT-HOUSES. 


173 


Martha’s Vineyard, is flashing white and red, interval between 
flashes, ten seconds, every fourth flash red; Sakonet, on little Cor¬ 
morant Rock, R. I., fixed white for thirty seconds, followed during 
the next thirty seconds by three red flashes at intervals of ten 
seconds. 

Dangerous shoals or rocks in the vicinity of liglit-houses are fre¬ 
quently indicated by chang¬ 
ing the color of that portion 
of the light covering the dan- 
ger. This is done by setting 
a piece of red glass of the 
proper width against the lan¬ 
tern glass. Fourteen-Foot 
Bank Light is a case in point. 

It shows a white flash every 
fifteen seconds between the 


'i 


bearings N. N. W. through 



E. to S. S. E. L. (from rfccfion and S/cya//on ef an AnnularZ.ens. 

seaward) and a red flash 

ever) fifteen seconds throughout the remaining arc, covering Brown’s 
Shoal to the southward and Joe Flogger’s Shoal to the northward. 

It has been proposed that all important lights should be flashing 
and that they should spell out the initials of their name by the 
Morse alphabet, by using long and short or red and white flashes, 
and that the fog signals should do the same by long and short blasts. 
I fear, however, that such a system would tend more to confuse than 
to aid the ordinary mariner. • 

The various characteristics in use on our coasts are : 


Fixed White 
Fixed Red 
Flashing White 
Flashing Red 

Fixed White varied by White Flashes 
Fixed White varied by Red Flashes 
Fixed White varied by Red and White Flashes 
Flashing Red and White 


F. W. 
F. R. 


Fig. W. 

Fig. R. 

F. W. v. W. Fl. 

F. W. v. R. Fl. 

F. w. v. R and W. Fl. 
Fig. R. and W. 












1 


174 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


It is also desirable that the light-houses should be conspicuous 
during the daytime, as they make excellent day-marks; this is done 






































CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHT-HOUSES. 


175 


eitlier by tlieir shape or by some peculiarity in the way they are 
are painted. When the background 
is dark they are usually painted 
white, and when the background 
is light, the towers are either left 
the natural color, if built of brick 
or stone, or are painted some dark 
color. Sometimes both white and 
some dark color are used in horizon¬ 
tal bands, spirals or checkers. «West 
Quoddy Head, Maine, has alternate 
red and white horizontal stripes. At 
Sankaty Head, Mass., the tower is 
white near the top and the bottom, 
with a red band in the middle. Four¬ 
teen-Foot Bank is brown. At Cape 
Henry, Va., the base, service-room and 
lantern of the octagonal tower are 
black; the shaft is colored on each 
face half white and half black, alter¬ 
nating so that the upper and lower 
halves of the faces show alternately 
black and white. A.t Cape Hatteras the Light-hous© at St. Pierre d© 

Royan, France. 

tower is colored in alternate zones or 

belts of black and white, each zone twenty-two feet wide. Cape Look- 



r,*. ♦jf-ovu-'v/- 
*{«:• 















*+**£?*** 


H« n, y 


M*. - _ 










































































176 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES . 


out, N. C., is in black and white checkers. At Hunting Island, S. C., the 
tower is white from the base to the height of foliage of the back¬ 
ground, the portion above this being black. At St. Augustine, the 
foundation of the tower is white, with a black cornice; the shaft is 
colored with black and white spiral bands. At St. Pierre de Rovans, 
France, the plan of the light-house is a square. As it is intended 
as a day-mark, the upper part has been enlarged to obviate the 
possibility of confounding it with the steeples of the town of 
Royan, and it is also painted in wide bands of red and white. The 
sketches show the appearance of some of these light-houses. 


STAMFORD HARBOR BIGHT. 
See page 151 


31 
















































































































































\ 


\ 


/ 











\ 


CHAPTER XV. 

ISLE OF MAY LIGHT-HOUSE. 

The liglit-house situated on the Isle of May, Scotland, at the 
mouth of the Firth of Forth,' was originally lighted in 1636 by 
an open coal-fire; it was altered in 1816 to argand lamps, with 



Light-house on the Isle of May. 

silvered parabolic reflectors ; in 1836 it was converted to the di¬ 
optric system, and on the 1st December, 1886, the electric-light was 
substituted: as this light is now one of the most powerful in the 
world, a general description may be of interest in this connection. 
The Board of Trade suggested its introduction at the Isle of 













178 


ANCIENT AND MODERN llGET-HOUSES. 


May, on tlie ground that “ there was no more important station on 
the Scottish shores, whether considered as a land-fall, as a light for 
the guidance of the extensive and important trade of the neigh¬ 
boring coast, or as a light to lead into the refuge harbor of the 
Forth.” 

Notwithstanding its isolated position and the difficulty of access, 
it was decided to accept the view of the Board of Trade. The 



necessary plans were prepared by the Messrs. Stevenson, and the 
works commenced in June, 1885, were completed and the light 
established by the first of December, 1886. The existing estab¬ 
lishment consisted of a light-liouse tower, with accommodation for 
three keepers — it was necessary to provide dwellings for three 
more keepers with their families, and buildings for the steam and 
electric plant, coal-houses, etc. All these were placed near the base 
of the island, in order to be near the small fresh-water loch, and to 
save the cost of transporting the coal and of pumping the water to 
the top of the island, while the saving of the cost of carriage of the 
materials and machinery to the top of the island, and of piping and 
pumping machinery would more than counterbalance the original 
cost of the conductors. 
















ISLE OF MAY LIGHT-HOUSE. 


179 


It was originally intended to use the Brush compound wound 
Victoria dynamo, giving a continuous current and supplying a single 
automatically-fed arc-lamp of 30,000 candle-power. The Brush 
Company at once set to work to make such a lamp, but after numer¬ 
ous trials they were unable to do so, consequently recourse was had 
to the more expensive alternate current magneto-electric machines of 



HORIZONTAL SECTION THROUGH FOCAL PLANSL 


De Meritens, which, though not so powerful, had given excellent re¬ 
sults in several light-houses and at the experiments at South Fore¬ 
land ; they were of the L type and of the largest size hitherto con¬ 
structed, weighing four-and-one-half tons each. 

Thev are so arranged that one-fifth, two-fifths, three-fifths, four- 
• — 












180 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

fifths or the whole of the current of a machine can, at pleasure, be 
sent to the distributor for transmission to the lantern, the two 
machines can also be coupled and the full current from both be em¬ 
ployed. The engines and boilers are in duplicate. 

The conductors are copper-rods one inch in diameter, well in¬ 
sulated, the length is 880 feet, the loss of the total energy is twenty 
per cent. 

The lamps are of the Serrin-Berjot type, and the carbons are of 
Siemens make, and have a soft central core of pure graphite which 
improves their steadiness in burning; they are 1.6 inches in diameter, 
but two-incli carbons can be used when both machines are running. 
With one machine the power of the arc is estimated at 12,000 to 
16,000 candles. 

The dioptric apparatus (see figure showing horizontal section 
through focal plane) is of a novel description, the condensing prin¬ 
ciple being carried farther than in any other apparatus previously 
constructed. Certain sectors are darkened by diverting the light 
from them, and the light is thrown into adjoining sectors so as to re¬ 
inforce their light. Thus the power of the light is increased in pro¬ 
portion as the dark arc is increased. The light gives four flashes in 
quick succession every half minute; and during the bright periods 
the effect of this concentration of the rays is that the light radiating 
naturally from the focus is increased in power fifteen times in 
azimuth in addition to the vertical condensation, excepting, of course, 
the loss due to reflection and absorption. 

The apparatus consists of a second-order fixed lens fifty-five inches 
in diameter, which operates on the rays so as to make them issue 
from the lens in horizontal planes. 

Outside this lens there is a revolving cage of straight vertical 
prisms, extending the full height of the lens, .or five-one-half feet, 
and composed of two panels on opposite sides of the centre, each 
operating in the horizontal plane on 180° of the light coming from 
the lens, in such a way as to condense the whole 180° into four 
flashes of 3° each — that is, 45° into 3°, with the proper intervals of 


ISLE OF MAY LIGHT-HOUSE. 


181 


darkness between them. This cage of glasswork makes one com¬ 
plete revolution every minute round the lens, thereby producing the 
characteristic of four flashes every half minute. 

The resulting beam of light from this apparatus is about 3,000,000 
candles when one magneto-electric machine is in use, and with both 
machines about 6,000,000 candles. The light has been picked-up 
and recognized by sailors at forty and fifty miles off, by the flashes 
illuminating the clouds overhead, though the geographical range, i. e., 
the distance which the curvature of the earth would permit the light 
to be seen, is only twenty-two miles. 

Surprise has frequently been expressed by masters of vessels and 
by residents on the neighboring shores who live in view of the Tsle 
of May light, that this light, which is so exceedingly brilliant in 
clear weather as to cast shadows at a distance of ten or fifteen miles, 
is so cut down by the fog that some go the length of believing the 
old oil-light (9446 candles) was better in a fog. All who have had 
experience with the electric-light are quite prepared for the first 
part of this statement, while the last, it need hardly be said, is a mis¬ 
take, inasmuch as the electric-light has been proved, by experiments 
in both natural and artificial fog and also by observation on existing 
light-houses lighted by electricity, to be in all circumstances of 
weather the most penetrating. 

Every night at 12 o’clock the lightkeepers at St. Abb’s Head, 
twenty-two miles distant, where there is a first-order flashing light, 
and one of the most powerful oil-lights in the English service, 
observe the Isle of May light, while the keepers at the latter also 
observe the St. Abb’s Head light. The result of five months’ observa¬ 
tion is that the Isle of May light is seen one-third oftener from St. 
Abb’s Head than the St. Abb’s Head light is seen from the Isle of 
May. It is perfectly true, however, that the superiority which is so 
apparent in clear and in rainy weather is very much reduced in 
hazy weather, and practically disappears in very dense fog. Look- 
ins to this fact and to the large first cost and annual maintenance, 
there is no doubt, that the conclusion arrived at by the Trinity 


182 ANCIENT AND MODERN. LIGHT-NOUSES. 


House 1 is sound, that electricity should be used only for important 
landfall lights. 

1 The Trinity House of England and the Scotch Board of Northern Lights in¬ 
stituted an exhaustive series of experiments at South Foreland, England, in 
1884-85 to determine the relative values of oil, gas and electricity as light-house 
illuminants; the following is a summary of their report so far as oil and electri¬ 
city are concerned: , 

“ The electric-light, as exhibited in the A experimental tower at South Fore¬ 
land, has proved to be the most powerful light under all conditions of weather, 
and to have the greatest penetrative power in fog. 

“ For the ordinary necessities of light-house illumination mineral-oil is the 
most suitable and economical illuminant; for salient headlands, important land¬ 
falls and places where a very powerful light is required, electricity oilers the 
greatest advantages.” 

A single oil-burner, placed on a focus of a proportionally sized lens, is sufficient 
for the generality of cases. 

This is specially the case since the introduction, on Messrs. Stevenson’s sugges¬ 
tion, of hyper-radiant apparatus suited for use with burners of large diameter. 
An experimental lens of 52| inches focal distance was constructed by Messrs. 
Barbier & Fenestre, and was fully experimented upon at the South Foreland. It 
proved entirely satisfactory, and since then the Light-House Board of the United 
States has ordered and received one of these lenses which is now in store at the 
United States General Light-House Depot, Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New 
York. 

This lens is composed entirely of brass and cut-glass, and when the sun shines 
on it, it sparkles with all the colors of the prism, reminding one of an immense 
soap-bubble. Its cost was nearly $1G,000. 


CHAPTER XVI 


miscellaneous lights . 

PIER-HEAD LIGHTS. 

On the great lakes most of the harbors are improved by build 
ing two parallel piers of cribwork filled with stone out into the lake 


t 


“Bug” Light, Bofton Harbor* 



until these piers reach a certain depth of water; the relief afforded 
by them is but temporary and they have to be extended from time 













184 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-ROUSES. 

The end of one pier is marked by a small light of the fourth or 
fifth order, supported on a frame structure either square or polygo¬ 
nal. In the tower there is room for the spare lamps, supply of oil, 
etc., and a place for the keeper to sleep. When the pier is ex¬ 
tended these towers can be readil)’ moved out to the end. The 
story that they are so light that a schooner ran her bowsprit through 
one and carried it from Grand Haven to Chicago is current but not 
trustworthy. 

When the pier is entirely completed, the practice is to build a 
separate foundation and to place on it a conical cast-iron tower similar 
to the one at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor, N. H. 

Quite a pretty light of the kind, but modelled after a small Roman 
temple, is on the end of the Portland, Maine, Breakwater. 1 

RIVER-LIGHTS. 

The total number of lighted aids to navigation in the United States 
on the 1st of July, 1887, including light-sliips and lighted buoys was 
2034, of these 1232 are what is known as riverdiglits. 

Congress has specially authorized the following rivers to be lighted: 
Hudson and East Rivers, K. Y.; Delaware River between Philadel¬ 
phia, Pa., and Bordentown, N. J.; Elk River, Md.; Cape Fear 
River, N. C.; Savannah River, Ga.; St. John’s River, Fla.; Mouth 
of Red River, La.; Chicot Pass and navigable channel along Grand 
Lake, La.; Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Great Kana¬ 
wha Rivers; Columbia and Willamette Rivers, Oregon; and Puget 
Sound, Washington Territory. 

A river-light is an exceedingly simple affair, consisting of a pole or 
mast with an arm or a shelf at its top by which to support a lantern. 
These are generally placed on the shore, but sometimes the light is 
needed in mid-stream in which case a small crib filled with stone 
forms a base for the pole. 2 Or, sometimes, an iron spindle is inserted 
in the rock as is the case in several places on the East River, N. Y. 

The lanterns in general use are known as tubular lens lanterns, they 

are not liable to be blown out and will burn all night. 

i See sketch, page 190. * See sketch, page 186. 


WHALE’S ROCK LIGHT. 

See page 152 


32 





















































9 






\ 


) 












RIVER-LIGHTS. 


185 


There are many places difficult and dangerous of access in stormy 
weather where small lights would be of great value could they be 
constantly maintained; this has been accomplished by a simple ad¬ 
dition to the lens lantern of a reservoir containing a gallon of oil, 
which is automatically fed to the lamp on the principle of the German 



student-lamn. By this device the lamp will burn and give a good 
light for at least eight days and nights without attention and during 
this time there is almost sure to be weather calm enough for the 
keeper to attend to the light. This improvement was made at the 
Light-House Depot at Staten Island; it is of recent date and already 
promises to extend the use of the stake-lights to places where form¬ 
erly it was thought necessary to establish regular light-houses. 















186 ANCIENT AND MODERN LMPHT-UOUSES. 


One of the simplest towers in the Light-House service existed for 
many years at Eden ton, C. As the sketch shows it was a tree, 
whose branches supported a box for the lantern and a platform 
reached by a ladder. 

I regret to say that this picturesque structure perished through 



y 

old age and was replaced by a prosaic pole to the top of which the 
lantern was nightly hauled by a rope. 

As soon as the energetic citizens of the neighborhood discovered 
that the light-keeper was no longer condemned to the exertion of 
climbing a ladder night and morning, the Liglit-llouse Board received 
a number of applications for his position. 

FLO ATING-LIG HTS. 

Floating-lights are of two kinds, light-sliips and lighted-buoys. 
The former are very strongly built schooners, which show during 
the day a colored disk from each mast to distinguish them from ordi¬ 
nary vessels, while at night powerful lights are hoisted to their tops: 
these lights consist of eight or nine lamps with reflectors hung on 
gimbals so that their rays will be projected horizontally. They 
are arranged in a circle and enclosed in a lantern ; during the day the 
whole apparatus is lowered to the deck into a small house at the foot 
of each mast. Light-vessels are also provided with a fog-bell and 










FLO A TING-LIGHTS . 


187 


sometimes with a fog-whistle operated by steam or hot air; they are 
stationed on outlying shoals where it is difficult if not impossible to 
erect light-houses. There are twenty-three of these light-vessels in 



position on the Atlantic Coast and one on Lake St. Clair: there are 
none on the Pacific Coast. 

As light-sliips are occasionally driven from their moorings by se¬ 
vere storms or may in some way be disabled, relief light-sliips are 
kept in readiness to replace them until they can be returned to their 
stations. 




















































































188 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 



Lighted buoys are comparatively of recent invention; they consist 
of a buoy filled with compressed illuminating gas; on the top of the 

buoy is a gas-jet in a 
lens; the latter is so 
arranged that neither 
wind nor wave can 
extinguish the light, 
■while an ingenious 
governor determines 
a constant flow r of gas 
to the burner irre¬ 
spective of the pres¬ 
sure in the buoy. 
When lighted they 
~ . ,, |« «, . will burn for a long 

time without atten¬ 
tion, generally about three months, though this length of time may 
be altered by changing the size of the buoy and the pressure to which 
the gas is subjected. 

This system of light¬ 
ing by compressed gas 
is, of course, also ap¬ 
plicable to stationary 
lights and is used in 
the beacons in Curri¬ 
tuck Sound, N. C., and 
also on the Homer 
Shoal, New York Har¬ 
bor. Another kind of 
lighted buoy has just 
passed successfully its 
experimental stage and 
is now being actively 
pushed to completion 

Foster's Gas-!ighted Buoy. 





































FLO A TING-LIGHTS. 


189 


\oac ^>uov 

^-fitted wbf 



as a practical aid to mariners. It is the joint invention of Lieut. 
Comdr. M. It. S. Mackenzie, U. S. N., and Lieut. John Millis, Corps 
of Engineers, U. S. A., and in general 
terms consists of a spar-buoy support¬ 
ing an incandescent electric-liglit con¬ 
nected to a dynamo machine on shore 
by an armored cable. 

The incandescent lamp is enclosed 
in a cylinder of stout glass to protect 
it from the waves, and this cylinder 
is further protected against the shocks 
of ice or other floating bodies by a 
kind of cage of steel bars. 

Six of these buoys, three on each 
side, will be set to mark Gcdney’s 
Channel, New York Bay : the house 
containing the engine, boiler and dy¬ 
namos will be located at Sandy Hook; 
the whole work is now under contract 
and will probably be in operation by the fall, of 1888. 

It has been frequently sug¬ 
gested that that portion of 
the Atlantic Ocean most fre¬ 
quented by vessels should be 
lighted by a series of floating 
lmht-houses. At our Cen- 

O 

tennial Exhibition at Phila¬ 
delphia several drawings and 
paintings were shown exhib¬ 
iting the methods by means 
of which it was proposed to 
accomplish this object. 

The following are some 
of the advantages claimed 




P5:-L" 9 

'fo. 



IfvMcwvd* of M, 

A.WrfTT’-T^vyer- 










































190 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGQT-HOUSES. 


by the inventors : the light-houses could be anchored anywhere 
on the high seas and both guide and light vessels to their destina¬ 
tion (one inventor showed his liglit-houses strung across the ocean 
like street lamps in a city); they could be used as post-offices, tele¬ 
graph, signal and life-saving stations. Pilots would await on them 
the arrivals of vessels; in stormy weather ships could moor to them 
and outride the gale. Captain Harris’s painting, quite a large 
one, showed three floating light-houses and several vessels in a 
violent storm, the latter are much tossed but the light-houses are 
steady and are assisting the vessels by firing rockets and throwing 
life-lines from mortars. The supports of the light-houses are appar¬ 
ently can-buoys of large size. Captain John Moody’s float is also of 
wrouglit-iron and shows considerable originality. It has four im¬ 
mense rays or arms, these being intended primarily to steady it and 
could also be used for storage purposes ; the Captain claims that 
its peculiar form allows it to be boarded at any time and in any 
weather and that in time of war it could be used as a fort. 


It is needless to say 
jects have been put into 
may be found in a re- 
ventors : “ The under¬ 
and to carry it out in a 
the Atlantic would cost 


that none of these pro- 
effect, perhaps the reason 
mark by one of the in¬ 
taking is certainly great, 
series of vessels across 
a great sum of money.” 



Vii'jSfT 

ywg '^-aag te 

x. 


■<***«? 












CHAPTER XVII. 


LIGHT-HOUSE ADMINISTRATION. 


To select the proper sites for liglit-houses, to plan and erect 
them on difficult sites, to devise suitable optical apparatus, illu- 
minants and lamps, to appoint proper keepers, to furnish the 



supplies, and to attend to all the minutiae consequent upon a service 
whose stations are scattered along a coast and are frequently diffi¬ 
cult and dangerous of access, requires a combination of qualities 
seldom found in one individual. Therefore, in the more important 
maritime nations the control of the light-house system is vested in 
Boards whose members are as a rule selected with a view to their 














192 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

ability in tlie various lines indicated above, and whose orders are 
carried into effect by district officers. 

FRANCE. 

The LDlit-House Board of France, known as the Commission des 
Phares, has its office in Paris, on the hill Trocadero, overlooking the 
Seine and Champ de Mars. This board consists of four engineers, 
two naval officers, one Member of the Institute, one inspector-general 
of marine engineers, and one hydrographic engineer. 



Longstono Light-h^use, Fame lslaf>ds. 


The executive officers are the Inspector General of the Corps of 
Engineers des Fonts et Cliaussees , who is Director of the French 
light-house administration, and another engineer of the same Corps, 
who is Engineer-in-Cliief and Secretary to the Commission. 

The entire administration on the seaboard is entrusted to the 
engineers who ki addition are charged with the work of river and 
harbor improvements. 

The buildings of the Commission are placed around a rectangular 
court-yard in which are models of light-houses, buoys and other 















33 



^jr/AW^s Jsu\ajjd >vio 

ll'iil ~ J tic=zk~^ 


SHARP’S ISXiAJVT) LIOHT, 

See page 152 







































































































































































































































































s 














LIGHT-HO USE ADMINISTRA TION. 


193 


apparatus pertaining to the establishment. The principal building, 
containing the offices is a handsome structure two-stories high, built 
of brick and limestone in alternate courses. It is surmounted by a 
tower and first-order lantern, for experimental purposes. 

The grand entrance-hall also contains many models, the most 
striking being those of the rock light-houses of France. 

The council-chamber is richly decorated and upon its walls are 
painted two large charts, each occupying an entire side: one shows 
all the light-houses of the world, the other the light-liouses of France, 
showing the illuminated areas. A bust of Fresnel, the inventer of 
the dioptric system occupies a prominent position, not only here but 
at all French light-stations where it is placed over the entrance- 
door. The museum is well-stocked with every kind of illuminating 
apparatus, both dioptric and cata-dioptric, though the latter is no 
longer used in French light-houses. It includes many objects of his¬ 
torical interest, among them the first lens apparatus made from 
Fresnel’s designs, and placed in the Tour de Cordouan, and also the 
various apparatus showing the successive steps by which he arrived 
at the lens now used in all parts of the world. 

At this depot the lenses and lamps undergo a thorough trial, the 
oil, however, is sent directly to the various districts and is there tested 
by the district engineers. 

The light-keepers are known as “masters” and “keepers,” and are 
appointed by the prefect or chief civil officer of the department on 
the nomination of the district engineer; men who have served in the 
army or navy are given the preference. The following requisites 
are necessary: They must be Frenchmen, between twenty-one and 
forty years of age, free from all infirmities which would prevent an 
active daily life, they must present a certificate of good moral charac¬ 
ter, know how to read and write, and have an elementary knowledge 
of arithmetic. 

In return for their services the following annual salaries are paid: 
master $200, principal or keepers of the first class $170, second 
class $155, third class $140, fourth class $125, fifth class $110, sixth 


194 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 



class $95. There is also allowed to each master and keeper a cer¬ 
tain amount of fuel, and those at isolated stations receive rations. 
These salaries are paid in monthly instalments subject to a deduction 
of five per cent, which is used for a fund for retiring pensions. 

There are never less than three keepers at a first-order light, and 
two at lisrhts of the second and third orders. Masters are charged 
with the supervision of the service of several lights, the title ( [maitre 


Bressay Light-house, Shetland Islands. 

dephare) can also be granted to those of the principal keepers (chefs 
gar (liens') who have merited it by exceptional service. The masters 
and principal keepers have general charge and attend to the corre¬ 
spondence, the other keepers owe obedience to them, but have the 
right of appeal to the engineer. 

Every year on the recommendation of the Engineer-in-Chief, a 
bonus not exceeding a month’s salary may be allowed by tlife prefect 
to the most meritorious keepers, the number receiving such bonus 
not to exceed one-fifth of the total number of keepers in the depart¬ 
ment. Masters and keepers may be punished or dismissed by the 
prefect on the report of the Engineer-in-Chief. 













LIGHT-HOUSE ADMINISTRATION. 


195 


Each keeper is allowed one kitchen and two bedrooms for himself 
and family; the kitchen and one bedroom is supplied with furniture 
by the Government; there is no regulation prohibiting the acceptance 
of gratuities from visitors, on the contrary it is rather expected. 


EXGLAND. 

The Corporation of Trinity-House, or, according to the original 
charter, “ The Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the Guild, Fra¬ 
ternity, or Brotherhood of the Most Glorious and Undivided Trinity, 
and of St. Clement, in the Parish of Deptford, Stroud, in the county 
of Kent,” existed as early as the reign of Henry VII (1485 to 1509), 
and was incorporated by royal charter during the reign of Henry 
VIII (1509 to 1547). In 1565 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
the corporation was empowered by act of Parliament “ to preserve 
ancient sea-marks, and to erect beacons, marks, and signs of the 
sea,” but it was more than a century, i. e., not until 1680, before the 
corporation constructed or owned any light-houses. After that date 
it from time to time purchased the lights which were owned by pri¬ 
vate individuals, or by the Crown, and erected new ones. In 1836, 
an act of Parliament vested in the Trinity-House the entire control 
of the light-houses of England and Wales, and gave it certain power 
over the Irish and Scotch lights. 

Prior to the act of 1836 the charge was from one-sixth of a penny 
to one penny per ton on all ships at each time of passing a light¬ 
house, but by this act uniform liglit-dues of a half-penny per ton 
were established. The charge of one penny per ton at Bell Bock 
light-house is the only exception to this uniform rate. National ships, 
fishing-vessels and vessels in ballast are exempt from dues. 

The English lights are placed under the corporation of the Trinity- 
House ; the Scottish lights are under the management of the Com¬ 
missioners of Northern Lights, and the Irish lights are under the care 
of the Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port of Dublin, 
commonly called the Ballast Board. 



196 ANCIENT AND MODERN IIGIIT-HOUSES. 

Tlie principal provisions of tlie act of 1853 affecting liglit-liouseg 
are as follows: 

(1.) The light-dues of the United Kingdom are to form one imperial 
fund , under control of the Board of Trade. (2.) From this fund all 
expenses of erecting and maintaining the lights of the United King¬ 
dom are to be defrayed. (3.) The three Boards which manage the 
liglit-houses of England, Scotland and Ireland are to render account 
of their expenditure to the Board of Trade. (4.) The Trinity- 


Howtti Baity Light-hoase. 

House, or English Board, is to exercise a certain control over the 
Boards in Scotland and Ireland, and is to judge of all their pro¬ 
posals to erect new lights, or to change existing ones; but in every 
case the sanction of the Board of Trade must precede the acts of 
each of the three Boards. 

This subordination to the Board of Trade causes much trouble 
and embarrassment. 

The Elder Brethren of the Trinity-House, twenty-nine in number, 
comprise sixteen active members, including two officers of the Navy, 
























LIGHT-HOUSE ADMINISTRATION. 


197 


and thirteen honorary members, all of whom are elected by the 
body as vacancies occur. 

The honorary members include H. R. H., the Prince of Wales, 
some of the ministers to the Crown, several members of the nobility 
and of Parliament. 

The Duke of Edinburgh is the present Master, but the Deputy- 
Master, who is elected by the Elder Brethren from their active list, is 
the executive officer. 

The Corporation of the Trinity-House also includes the Junior 
Brethren, who are elected by the Elder Brethren, and have no duties, 
simply forming a reserve from which the Elder Brethren add to their 
number when vacancies occur. 

Out of the annual revenues $1,725 are paid to each of the active 
members; these members are organized into committees which meet 
twice a week except when absent on duty. The entire Board holds 
weekly sessions, at which the matters previously considered in com¬ 
mittee arc disposed of. 

Trinity-House is an ancient structure on Tower Hill, opposite the 
old Tower of London, in the “City’’; it has a handsome freestone 
front in Classic style. The main entrance is on the ground-floor 
through a capacious hall, where are exhibited models of many of the 
most famous light-houses in England, and also of beacons and buoys. 
There are ample accommodations for the officers, for the Board and 
Committees, for the Engineers’ Department, and for photometric ex¬ 
periments, and in addition there is a grand banqueting-hall and 
salon . 

The principal depot of the Trinity-House is at Blackwall, on the 
lower Thames ; here are repaired the numerous light-ships employed 
on the coast above and below the mouth of the Thames. There is 
also a completely appointed lamp-shop. The grounds are limited in 
extent and some of the buildings are old and inconvenient. Here is 
also stored a supply of buoys of all kinds. 

There are two experimental towers fitted with second-order lenses 
tor testing lamps, oils, effects of fog, etc. 






198 ANCIENT AND MODERN LJGHT-HOUSES. 

There are other depots at Yarmouth, Coquet Island and other 
places, but the one at Blackwall is the principal depot for manu¬ 
facture, supply and repair. 

The immediate agents through whom the authority of the Trinity- 
House is exercised are called Superintendents, and each has some 
special duties assigned him, either the sole care of the service in some 
specified part of the coast or the charge of some special branch, such 
as the supply and storehouses at Blackwall. The tenders are under 
their orders; they wear a uniform on all occasions when on duty. 



Liglit-keepers are appointed by the Corporation. The require¬ 
ments are that they should be between nineteen and twenty-eight 
years of age, be of good moral character, be physically sound, and be 
able to read, write and perform the simpler operations of arithmetic. 
As vacancies occur successful applicants are taken on probation, i. e ., 
are appointed supernumerary liglit-keepers. They are then sent to the 
depot at Blackwall and placed under the orders of the Superinten¬ 
dent there. They are carefully trained in the use and care of lamps 
and all light-house apparatus, including meteorological instruments, 
the keeping of the light-house journal and accounts, and the general 







































LIGRT-HO USE ADMINISTIIATION. 


199 


management of affairs at a light-house. A certificate of the lowest 
grade is given for competency in their duties. A second course of 
instruction includes the use of tools and plumbing, that he may be 
able to make minor repairs, and also the management and general 
knowledge of the steam-engine. A third course teaches the manage¬ 
ment of the magneto-electric machine and lamp, and the fourth 
course the use and management of fog-horn apparatus. Separate 
certificates are given for each course. 

There are always eight of these candidates for light-keepers posi¬ 
tions at Blackwall and two at South Foreland, the latter for instruc¬ 
tion in the management of electric-lights, and to the great care taken 
in their selection and to the thoroughness of their instruction is to be 
attributed the excellent condition and efficiency of English light¬ 
houses. 

The keepers and supernumeraries are supplied with n<^at uni¬ 
forms; the supernumeraries are paid $225 per annum, and on receiving 
four certificates and giving satisfactory proofs of steadiness and 
sobriety they become entitled to an assistant-keeper’s pay. 

The rates of pay differ, depending upon whether the keepers are 

$ 

insured or not, as will be seen from the following table: 


RATES OF PAY. 


Grade of Keeper. 

Gross rate 
per annum. 

Deduct 

insurance. 

Principals who have served as such above 10 years, 
if insured. 

$360.00 

$15.00 

Same if uninsured..... 

350.00 


Principals, above 5 and under 10 years, if insured.. 

340.00 

15.00 

Same if uninsured. 

332.00 


Principals under 5 years, if insured. 

330.00 

15.00 

Same if uninsured. 

322.00 


Assistant-keepers who have served as such above 
10 years, if insured. 

290.00 

15.00 

Same if uninsured. 

282.00 


Assistant-keepers, above 5 and under 10 years, if 
insured. 

280.00 

15.00 

Same if uninsured.-. 

272.00 


Assistant-keepers under 5 years, if insured. 

270.00 

15.00 

Same if uninsured. 

2G2.00 




























200 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


When no longer able to do service, keepers are pensioned, the 
pension being computed on an estimated allowance of $90 in addi¬ 
tion to the above scale. 

Flag-staffs are provided at each station, placed either on the tower 
or in the grounds surrounding it; from which is displayed the Trinity- 
House flag on Sundays, holidays and whenever the light-house 
tenders are seen approaching the station. At stations where there 
are detached dwellings, each keeper is furnished with a living-room, 
three bedrooms, a scullery, wash-room, a place for coal, and if 
the site permits, with a garden. A certain amount of standing 
furniture is provided. Small libraries are provided at each station 
for the use of the keepers and their families; these libraries are in¬ 
terchanged between the stations on the annual visits of the supply- 
vessels, medicine-chests are also supplied. 

SPAIN. 

Ir Spain the system of administration is the same as that of 
France. They form a part of the especial branch of public works 
and depend on a general board of direction established at the De¬ 
partment of Public Works. To this board is attached a permanent 
commission, composed of engineers of high rank, of the Corps of 
Roads, Canals and Ports, and of officers of the Royal Navy of like 
rank, who are always consulted when it is intended to modify or vary 
the general plan of lighting, or to establish some new light in which 
the site of the light-house, its height above the sea and its distinctive 
characteristic is to be determined. In all else the construction, 
establishment and repair of light-liouses appertain to the engineers 
who are distributed in the provinces; they and their works are usu¬ 
ally visited at stated periods by their immediate superiors who are 
also engineers with the title of Inspectors, and who form a superior 
class of the corps. Their duties, powers and responsibility to each 
other and to the Government are entirely analogous to those which 
are established in France. 

W T ith regard to the lights and beacons, the captains of ports are 


LIGHT-HOUSE ADMINISTRATION. 201 

required to watch their effects and to report to the engineer, and 
also, if they think necessary, to the chiefs of the Marine Department, 
so as to secure the adoption of such improvements as may prove 
desirable. 

A special tax is collected, the product of which is applied to 
lighting the coasts; but the revenue thus derived enters at once into 
the public treasury, and the liabilities for each year, whether for new 
works or for the maintenance, lighting and service in general, are met 
by drafts on the credits opened by the budget of the State. 

% 

DENMARK. 

The light and buoy service of Denmark is placed under the super¬ 
intendence of the Ministry of Marine, who decides directly upon 
everything concerning the personnel, the establishment of new lights, 
the alteration of old ones, and upon all matters relating to the 
development of the light and buoy system. 

The necessary funds are obtained by appropriation of the Legisla¬ 
ture, “ The Council of the Realm.” There are two kinds of ex¬ 
penditures, the first for ordinary expenses for the maintenance of ex¬ 
isting lights, the second for the erection of new lights and for works 
of considerable magnitude. 

There are two kinds of lights, Governmental and Communal: all 
“ sea-lights ” are in the first class, and are maintained by the Govern¬ 
ment. In the second class are small lights placed at the entrance to 
roadsteads or harbors, and maintained by the respective communities. 
The light-house inspectors are naval officers, and receive pay and 
allowances as such. 

A first-order light has three keepers, second, third, fourth and 
fifth order lights two keepers each, and sixth-order lights one keeper. 
The number of keepers is sometimes augmented when the light is 
situated on isolated points or uninhabited islands. At sixth-order 
lights, where the nature of the service does not prevent, the keeper is 
allowed to have other occupation in addition. 


202 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


HOLLAND. 

The management of the coast lights, buoys and beacons of Hol¬ 
land is solely in the hands of the Government, and rests with the 
Ministry for the Marine, under whom there is an inspector-general 
and seven inspectors for as many districts, who are charged with the 
direction and superintendence of their branch of the service. The 
cost of construction and maintenance is placed yearly on the list of 
Government expenses. 

The liarbor-liglits being generally of only local importance are ex¬ 
cluded from the care of the Government, being under the direction 
of the communities where they are situated. Plans and specifications 
for the construction of light-houses are furnished by the Govern¬ 
ment, and the work is let by contract to the highest bidder. 

There are no general instructions for the district inspectors. The 
regulations conform to the local circumstances of each district. 

In addition to the inspections by district inspectors, a general in¬ 
spection is made by the inspector-general at times not stated. 

Buoys and beacons are maintained by contract. 

BELGIUM. 

The construction of Belgian light-houses and harbor-lights is part 
of the general administration of roads and bridges (Ponts et Chaus - 
sees) under the superintendence of the Minister of Public Works. 
An annual sum is appropriated for repairs and maintenance. 

The care of the light-houses is intrusted to the navy after they have 
been built by the engineers of the Ponts et Chaussees. The navy is 
under the control of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the “ bud¬ 
get ” includes each year the sum necessary for supplies and salaries. 

The light-houses on the coast of the North Sea are under the 
authority of the Inspector of Pilotage at Ostend. 

The inspectors of pilotage see that the lights are lit at the proper 
hours, and are kept in an efficient condition. The keepers, watch- 


LIGIiT-HO USE ADMINISTEA T1 ON. 


203 

men, etc., are under the orders of these inspectors who have the 
right to suspend them for fiye days; heavier punishments are in¬ 
dicted by the General Director of the Navy, which can only be re¬ 
mitted by the Minister. 

Light-house apparatus is purchased by the Department of Public 
Works from those makers who seem to offer the best guaranty. 

The Departments of Foreign Affairs and of Public Works consult 
together concerning any proposed changes in the lighting of the 
coasts. 

AUSTRIA. 

The superintendence of all the Austrian light-houses, buoys and 
beacons belongs to the Imperial Royal Admiralty. 

The deputies of the Exchange at Trieste attend to the manage¬ 
ment of light-houses and instruct their inferiors. The duties of 
these deputies include the erection of light-liouses, repairs, salaries 
of keepers and their discipline; they also collect light-liouse taxes 
and appoint the keepers. 

All taxes levied on commercial vessels belong to the Treasury of 
the Deputation of the Imperial Exchange Commission, in order to 
pay for the lights and all necessary expenses, repairs and renovations. 

Every renovation or alteration of a light is first submitted for 
approval to the Admiralty by the Commission of Exchange, and the 
necessity for a new light is investigated by a commission. 

THE UNITED STATES. 

Prior to 1852 the Light-IIouse Service of the United States was 
in the most inefficient condition; its shortcomings became so glar¬ 
ing that in 1851 Congress passed an act authorizing the Secretary 
of the Treasury to appoint a Board consisting of two officers of 
the navy of high rank, two officers of the engineers of the army, 
an officer of high scientific attainments, and a junior officer of 
the navy to act as secretary, whose duty should be to inquire into 
the condition of the light-house establishment of the United States 


204 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES . 

and to make a detailed report to guide future legislation on the 
subject. With characteristic economy a further proviso was added 
to the act, providing that none of the above officers should receive 
any additional compensation for their services. 

In obedience to the above act, the Hon. Thomas Corwin, then 
Secretary of the Treasury, appointed the following officers to form 
the above Board: Commodore William B. Shubrick, U. S. N.; 
Commander S. F. Dupont, U. S. N.; Brevet Brig.-Gen’l Jos. G. 
Totten, U. S. Corps of Engineers; Lieut.-Col. James Kearney, 
U. S. Top. Engineers; Prof. A. D. Baelie, LL.D., Supt. Coast Sur¬ 
vey ; Lieut. Thornton A. Jenkins, U. S. N., Secretary. It would 



have been difficult to have selected a Board of more ability or pro¬ 
bity. They entered on their duties with a patience and zeal which 
the importance of the subject required, and found that the existing 
system demanded a thorough purification and reorganization; that 
it was inefficient and wasteful; that the light-houses were neither 
properly built, located, nor distributed in accordance with the needs 
of commerce; that there was no efficient system of inspection and 
superintendence; that changes were constantly taking place in the 
aids to navigation without any official notice being given to the pub¬ 
lic : that the light-keepers in many cases were not competent, and 
they were never instructed in reference to their duties nor examined 


LIGHT-HO USE ADM I NIST R A TION. 


205 


as to their ability to perform them, and, in short, that there was no 
proper system in the management of the Light-House Establishment 
of the United States. 

This Board made a detailed report and recommendations to Con¬ 
gress and in consequence the following act was passed and is still 
in force : “ The President shall appoint two officers of the navy of 
high rank, two officers of the Corps of Engineers of the army, and 
two civilians of high scientific attainment, whose services mav be at 
the disposal of the President, together with an officer of the navy 
and an officer of the engineers of the army, as secretaries, who shall 
constitute the Light-House Board. The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall be ex-officio president of the Light-House Board.” Act approved 
31 August , 1852. 

Further acts provided that the Board should e.ect one of its mem¬ 
bers as chairman, who should preside at its meetings in the absence 
of the president; that the Board should meet on the first Mondays 
in March, June, September and December, and at such other times 
as the Secretary of the Treasury should require; that it should be 
attached to the office of the Secretary of the Treasury, and under 
his superintendence should discharge all administrative duties relat¬ 
ing to the construction, illumination, inspection and superintendence 
of light-liouses, light-vessels, beacons, buoys and sea-marks and their 
appendages, embracing the security of existing works, procuring 
illuminating and other apparatus, supplies and materials for building 
and for rebuilding when necessary and keeping in repair the light¬ 
houses, light-vessels, beacons and buoys of the United States ; should 
furnish to the Secretary of the Treasury estimates of the expense 
which the several branches of the light-house service may require, 
and such other information as may be required to be laid before 
Congress at the commencement of each session ; should make such 
regulations as they deem proper for securing an efficient, unilorm 
and economical administration of the Light-House Establishment, 
and should arrange the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific and Lake Coasts of 
the United States into light-house districts. An officer of the army 


206 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 


or navy was required to be assigned to each district as light-house 
inspector, subject to the orders of the Board. 

The President of the United States was required to cause to be 
detailed from the Engineer Corps of the army such officers as may 
be necessary to superintend the construction and renovation of light¬ 
houses. And all plans, drawings, specifications and estimates of cost 
of all illuminating and other apparatus and of the construction and 
repair of towers, buildings, etc., were to be prepared by the engi¬ 
neer secretary of the Board, or by such officer of engineers of the 
army as may be detailed for that service. 

In conformity to the act of 1852, the President appointed, on 
October 9, 1852, the following gentlemen to form the first Light- 
House Board: William B. Shubrick, Commodore, U. S. N.; Samuel 
F. Dupont, Commander, U. S. FT.; Joseph G. Totten, Colonel, Chief 
of Engineers, Brevet Brigadier-General, U. S. A.; James Kearney, 
Lieutenant-Colonel, Corps of Topographical Engineers, U. S. A.; 
Prof. Alexander D. Bache, LL.D., Superintendent U. S. Coast Sur¬ 
vey ; Prof. Joseph Henry, LL.D., Secretary Smithsonian Institution ; 
Thornton A. Jenkins, Lieutenant, U. S. N., Naval Secretary; Ed¬ 
mund L. F. Ilardcastle, Lieutenant, Corps of Topographical Engi¬ 
neers, Brevet Captain, U. S. A., Engineer Secretary. The Board 
elected Commodore Shubrick as its chairman. 

The chairman and the two secretaries are the executive officers 
of the Board and are members of all standing committees. Under 
the direction of the chairman the naval secretary has charge of all 
matters pertaining to floating aids to navigation, to supplies, to nomi¬ 
nations and salaries of light-keepers, to inspection of the returns and 
accounts of the inspectors and the appropriations, petitions, applica¬ 
tions and correspondence connected therewith. The engineer secre¬ 
tary, under the direction of the chairman, has charge of all fixed 
aids to navigation, the preparation of plans, specifications and esti¬ 
mates relating to them, the purchase and repair of illuminating 
apparatus, the real estate of the Light-House Establishment, the 
manufacturing establishments of the Board at Staten Island and the 


LIGHT-HOUSE ADMINISTRATION. 


207 


general depot at that place, except that part of it relating to sup¬ 
plies, the nomination and salaries of employes of light-house engi¬ 
neers, the inspection of the returns and accounts of light-house 
engineers, and the appropriations, petitions, applications and corre¬ 
spondence in relation to the foregoing. 

The United States is divided into sixteen liglit-house districts. 
The first to the sixth inclusive comprises the Atlantic Coast, the 
seventh and eighth the coast of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, the 



ninth, tenth and eleventh the Great Lakes, the twelfth and thir¬ 
teenth the Pacific Coast and the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth 
the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri and Bed Fivers. 

To each district is assigned a naval officer as inspector, who has 
charge of all the floating aids to navigation, the supplies of the light- 
stations, the salaries of keepers, and the disbursement of funds relat¬ 
ing to the above objects. The inspectors are required to inspect the 
lights at least once every three months, at which time they ascertain 
the condition of the station and report it to the Board. They also 
furnish to the engineer of the district notes of such repairs as ma) 
be needed. 

Every district has also an engineer officer of the army as district 
engineer, though in some cases this officer mav be in charge of two 

O 7 O * 








208 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

or three districts; his duty is to superintend the constru 9 tion and re¬ 
novation of the fixed aids to navigation; he visits the lights as 
occasion demands, furnishing the Board with a report of the condi¬ 
tion and needs of the stations visited, and sending to the inspector a 
copy of his notes so far as they relate to the latter’s duties. 

Both the district inspectors and engineers submit to the Board 
monthly and annual reports of the work done under their charge. 

When the Board receives petitions for the erection of new lights, 
the matter is referred to both the district officers for their views as 
to the necessity for the light and its proper location; the district 
engineer also submits plans and estimates of cost of the proposed 
structure; the Board then decides as to what should be done, and 
makes a report to Congress through the Secretary of the Treas¬ 
ury. 

If Congress makes an appropriation, the district engineer is 
charged with the erection of the light, which must be done by con¬ 
tract, if possible, after due advertisement. 

When the light-house is completed, the district engineer informs 
the Board, the keepers are appointed and the light-house is placed 
in charge of the district inspector. 

Prior to completion, the Board issues a notice to mariners, cnvin^ 

1 ' O O 

a short description of the light and the probable date on which it 
will first be lighted. 

The annual expense of maintaining the Liglit-house Establishment 
is approximately as follows, and is divided under the following 
heads: 

Supplies. — $340,000. This is mainly for mineral-oil, but also 
includes cleansing materials, books, boats and furniture for sta¬ 
tions. 

Repairs. —$300,000. This includes the repairs of light-stations, 
the building of pier head-lights and the purchase of illuminating 
apparatus to replace that already in use. 

Salaries. — $585,000. This includes salaries of light-keepers, fuel, 
rations and rent of quarters where necessary. 


LIGHT-HO USE ADMIN 1 STRA TION. 


209 

Light-vessels. — $215,000. This includes all expenses of main¬ 
taining, supplying and repairing light-vessels. 

Buoyage. $325,000. ’Ihis includes all expenses relating to 
buoys, spindles and day-beacons 

Fog-signals. — $60,000. This includes all expenses relating to the 
establishment and repairs of fog-signals and buildings connected 
therewith. 

Inspecting Lights. —$3,000. This is to pay for the travelling ex¬ 
penses of the Board and for rewards for information as to collisions. 

Lighting of Rivers. — $225,000. This pays for the establish¬ 
ment, maintenance and supply for the river-liglits previously men¬ 
tioned. 

Surveys. — $2,500. This is to pay for the preliminary examina¬ 
tions of sites and for plans, for which estimates are to be made to 
Congress. 

Total. —$1,415,500. 

The total sum is never exceeded and frequently is not spent, in 
which case the balance on hand at the end of the fiscal year is re¬ 
turned to the Treasury. 

Every new light-house is the subject of a special appropriation 
which is available until the light-house is completed, any balance re¬ 
maining is turned into the Treasury and is not available for any 
other purpose. 

The number of lights increases from year to year to keep pace with 
the needs of commerce. The following table shows the aids to 
navigation maintained by the United States Light-house Establish¬ 
ment on June 30, 1887. 

The Board at present has its offices in the Treasury Department 
at Washington, and for a number of years past has complained of 
lack of room. 

The Board has had to move four times since its organization in 
1852, each time with damage and loss to its archives, and delay and 
inconvenience in the despatch of its business, which is yearly increas¬ 
ing in size and importance. 


210 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 



a Including Blackwell’s Island Light, pot maintained by Light-house Board, b Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, 


































































































































































































































LIGHT-HOUSE ADMINISTRATION. 


211 


It has petitioned to Congress for an appropriation to erect, on one 
of the Government reservations at Washington, a suitable building 
in ■which its office, its records, its library, its museum and its 
laboratory can find a permanent home. 

Congress, so far, has not seen fit to grant this appropriation. 

The Board has depots for supplies and buoys in various districts, 
but the most important one is on Staten Island, N. Y., in the Third 
District. It is the general depot for the whole United States; all the 
oil is sent there, tested and distributed, and from it are furnished 
nearly all the supplies for the other districts. The inspector of the 
Third District has charge of the above, while the engineer has 
charge of a well-appointed lamp-shop, blacksmith and carpenter shop, 
where lamps, lanterns and general metal-work are made and re¬ 
paired, oil-cans and boxes for mineral-oil manufactured, illuminating 
apparatus set up and tested prior to shipment, buoys repaired, 
photometric tests made, and, in general, the multifarious work done 
which the light-house service requires. 

A large tender, the “Fern," distributes the supplies from this 
depot to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. She is soon to be replaced 
by a larger vessel, as the needs of the service are rapidly exceeding 
her carrying-capacity. 

The supplies for the Pacific Coast, for the lakes and for the rivers 
are shipped by rail and distributed by the tenders of the districts. 

Wherever it is possible light-keepers are furnished with com¬ 
modious dwellings of five or six rooms; where vacancies occur they 
are filled by promotion from keepers in service of a lower grade, and 
the Collector of Customs of the district nominates for the ultimate 
vacancy; his nominee receives an appointment as acting-assistant 
keeper, and if he proves satisfactory after trial, he receives an 
appointment as assistant-keeper. 

The salaries paid to light-keepers vary considerably, both on 
account of the importance of the lights and of the cost of living in 
different parts of the United States. The principal keepers at most 
of the first-order lights on the Pacific Coast receive $1,000 a year, 


I 


212 ANCIENT AND MODERN LIGHT-HOUSES. 

while on the Atlantic Coast there is but one who receives so much, 
and that is at Minot’s Ledge; he has three assistants at $550 
each. 

As a general rule the keeper of a first-order light receives from 
$700 to $800, of a second-order light from $600 to $700, and of the 
lower orders from $500 to $600. Assistant-keepers receive various 
rates of pay ranging from $400 to $550. 

Captains of light-vessels receive from $750 to $1,000. 

Keepers are required to be in uniform. 

At some stations difficult of access rations are furnished in addi¬ 
tion to the salary, and most stations also receive an allowance of 
coal. 

Neat libraries, of about thirty books each, are left at isolated 
stations and changed from time to time. 

The Light-house Board issues the following publications for the 
use of the public, in addition to notices to mariners. 

Annual Report of the Light-house Board. This gives an account 

V 

of all the work done during the year, and includes recommendations 
for future work. 

List of Light-houses, Lighted Beacons, and Floating Lights on the 
Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Coasts, corrected to the first of January 
of each year. 

List of Lights in the Waters and on the Shores and Banks of the 
Northern Lakes and Rivers of the United States, and also of the 
Canadian Lights in those Waters, corrected to the opening of navi¬ 
gation in each year. 

List of Beacons, Buoys, Stakes, and other Day-marks in each 
Light-house District, corrected to the first of July of each year. 

These lists are furnished free of charge to shipmasters on appli¬ 
cation to the Board. 

The Light-house Board, at this date, 1 is constituted as follows: — 

lion. Charles S. Fairchild, Secretary of the Treasury, ex-officio 
President of the Board; Vice-Admiral Stephen C. Bowan, U. S. N.» 


1 December, 1888. 


LIGHT-HOUSE ADMINISTRATION. 


213 


Chairman; Brigadier-General Thomas Lincoln Casey, Chief of En¬ 
gineers, U. S. A.; Mr. Walter S. Franklin; Commodore David B. 
Harmony, U. S. N.; Colonel John M. Wilson, Corps of Engineers, 
U. S. A.; Commander Robley D. Evans, U. S. N., Naval Secretary; 
Major James F. Gregory, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., Engineer 

Secretarv. 

•» 

There is a vacancy on the Board not yet filled. 


D. P. HEAP. 


\ 





APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX A. 

From Longfellow’s Journal I make the following extracts', men¬ 
tioning his visit with Sumner to Minot’s Ledge Light-house: — 

“ Aug. 22, *71. The steam-tug comes for us, and Sumner, Mr. James Ernset, 
and myself go to meet the revenue-cutter in the harbor, find on board the 
Collector, with Agassiz and a young Japanese prince, and we steam away for 
Minot’s Ledge. Dinner (on board) ended, we find ourselves at the base of the 
light-house, rising sheer out of the sea like a huge stone cannon, mouth upward. 
We are hoisted up forty feet in a chair, some of us; others go up by an iron 
ladder, —all but the young Japanese, who refuses to go up at all. Whether he 
was afraid, or thought it only a trick to imprison him, will remain a mystery 
till his travels are published.” 

In a letter to G. W. Greene, dated Nahant, Aug. 25, 1871, Long- 

__ 4 

fellow says: — 

“ On Tuesday we made our expedition to Minot’s Ledge,—it was every way 
pleasant and successful. We wished you could have been with us ; but it was 
impossible to notify you in season. The light-house rises out of the sea like a 
beautiful stone cannon, mouth upward, belching forth only friendly fires. We 
went up into it, — even into the lantern itself, the glass of which (beautiful plate 
glass) cost ten thousand dollars. I can believe this, having seen it, and knowing 
what telescopic lenses cost. The lantern will hold six people easily.” 

By “ lantern ” Longfellow meant the lenticular apparatus. 



216 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX B. 

As another evidence of the great fury of the storms at this station, 
I append an official report of the light-keeper. When it is remem¬ 
bered that the light is one hundred and thirty-six feet above the sea 
level, or about as high as the Statue of Liberty to top of torch, ex¬ 
cluding the pedestal, some idea may be formed of the tremendous 
force to which this station is subjected, when even at this height the 
waves have sufficient power to crash in heavy plate-glass panes. 

Tillamook Rock Light Station, Or., Dec. 7,1887. 

U. S. L. II. Inspector, Portland, Oregon. 

Sir, —I have to report, that about 9 p. M. of the 3d, a gale from the S. E. set 
in, and continued with varying force until the 7th. About 9 A. M. of the 4th the 
seas commenced breaking over the building, some of them going twenty or 
thirty feet over the tower. About 11 a. m. the sea broke in the window of the 
oil-room, flooding it and the hall. At 2 P. M. the lumber for the landing platform, 
which was piled against the fence on the eastern end of the house, got adrift, but 
was removed and piled against the house, with the loss of one plank. The seas 
in going over caused the water to come in the south and west windows of the 
tower, also caused the roof to leak very much, and the ceiling and walls of all 
the rooms to leak, — in some of them we had to place buckets to catch the drip ; 
in the siren room it leaked so much, especially around the smoke-stack, that the 
boilers and machinery were covered with salt, and causing them to rust very 
much ; it also came through the ventilator into the lantern. We covered the 
clock-work and revolving wheels as much as possible, but it did not do much 
gocd, and it will take some time to get them in condition again. 

Shortly after 4 p. M. the sea broke in the upper pane in the W. by S. tier in 
the tower. As soon as possible we set a storm-pane, with a backing of sheet-iron, 
but the sea soon broke them out, leaving the clamps fast-to the frame. It being 
impossible to light the lamp, started the siren and made a wooden shutter, in 
place of storm-pane. At 6 p. m. the northern tank at the west end of the siren 
soon broke adrift: we plugged the feed-tank and saved the water in it. About 7 
o’clock the lower pane of the same tier was broken in ; tried a storm-pane, but 
it was soon stove in, and we made a wooden shutter, and calked both with cotton 


APPENDIX. 


217 

•waste, so that very little water or wind came in. The three upper and three 
middle panes next south of the broken ones are started and leak. The lens cover 
is badly cut, and about thirty of the lenses chipped by glass thrown against them. 
At midnight the three tanks at the west end were wedged together against the 
N. W. corner of the fence. The fence is bent, and broken in four places. Sev¬ 
eral large pieces of the rock on the south side were washed away, and one piece 
is lodged under the fence at the S. E. corner. 

The wind varied from S. E. to S. W ; the seas were mostly from the S. W. At 
12.30 on the morning of the 4th, I shut down the siren, and hung a large lantern 
in the tower on the W. side. The water in the feed-tank was low, and the moon 
up, and the Cape light in sight. It was unsafe to attempt to fill the tank from 
the cistern, on account of the sea breaking over so often and heavy. There are 
two upper and three middle panes on hand, but none for the lower, and no way 
of cutting one of the others to fit. As soon as the weather permits, the upper 
pane will be set. 

On the night of the 5th a lantern was swung in the tower, as it was impossible 
to have the lamp in order. The siren was in operation from 2.15 to 8 A. m. of 
6th; at 11 a. m. had the lamp in order, and lighted it to dry the lens; started the 
revolving machinery at sunset time. There should be two more sets of clamps 
for storm-panes furnished, — there is but one set here. All is being done that is 
possible to put the station in order. The re is a great deal of work. I have made 
requisition on the engineer for material to repair damages. 

27th. The following damage was caused by the gale of yesterday (26th). The 
ash shoot and rail of derrick platform were carried away, the guy boom of the 
derrick was broken off at the outer edge of the platform, two steps of the iron 
stairway broken, upper pane in the tier next south of those broken on the 4th, 
and the middle pane in the tier next to it were broken out by the sea, and re¬ 
placed with wooden covers. It was impossible to light the lamp last night. Two 
lanterns were hung in the tower, one on the S. side and one on the N. side, and 
to-night the lamp will be lighted. The upper pane of glass broken on the 4th 
has been replaced, and there are now three broken panes. The frames on the S. 
and W. sides of the lantern are strained, and all joints in tower and lantern are 
full of salt and rust. The smoke-stack is started, also the north siren hood. 
We need the clamps for storm-panes very much. 

Very respectfully, 

(Signed) J. M. Flyhn, 

Acting ls< Assistant Keeper. 


218 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX C. 

Researches as to the origin of words and names have great inter¬ 
est for the philologist, so I append a ballad giving an ingenious 
explanation how Barnegat Light-house came to be so named, Si non 
e vero ben trovato. 

THE LIGHT-KEEPER’S DAUGHTER. 

A NAUGHTYGAL BALLAD. 

Air—*“ The Pretty Little Rat-Catcher’s Daughter .” 

In tlie Bay of Barnegat sailed a jolly, jolly tar. 

And lie watched like a cat o’er the water, 

Till he spied from the main-top-gallant-forward-mizzen spar 

f 

The pretty little light-keeper’s daughter. 

Then he landed on the land, did this jolly, jolly tar, 

And he chased her o’er the sand till he caught her. 

Says he, “ My pretty miss, I’ve got to have a kiss 
From the pretty little light-keeper’s daughter.” 

But she squealed a little squeal at the jolly, jolly tar, 

And said she didn’t feel as if she’d ought to; 

Then she scooted up the bar and hollered for her ma, — 

Oh, the pretty little light-keeper’s daughter! 

“ Sure my name is Barney Flynn,” said the jolly, jolly tar, 

“ And at drinking Holland gin I’m a snorter.” 

Then a tub of washing-blue—soap suddenly she threw — 

Did the mother of the light-keeper’s daughter. 

“ Now, Barney, git! ” she spat, at the jolly, jolly tar ; 

And you bet that Barney gat for the water. 

Thus the place from near and far was named by the ma 
Of the pretty little light-keeper’s daughter. 


— Adam Clark . 


INDEX 


A 

Alexandria, light at, 3. 

Ancient light-houses, 1. 

Ar-men, light-house of, 51. 

Atlantic Coast of United States, light¬ 
houses on, 112. 

Austria, light-house administration of, 
203. 

B 

Belgium, light-house administration of, 

202 . 

Bell Rock, 31. 

Bell Rock Light-House, 34. 

Boon Island Light, 117. 

Boston Light, 118. 

C 

Cape Hatteras Shoal, proposed light at, 
152. 

Characteristics of light-houses, 170. 
Colossus of Rhodes, 9. 

Cordouan, Tower of; 11. 

Corunna, Tower at, 14. 

D 

Day Marks, 174. 

Denmark, light-house administration 
of, 201. 

Detroit River Light-House, 166. 

Dover Tower, 6. 

E 

Edenton Range, 186. 

Eddystone Rocks, 16. 

Eddystone, Rudyerd’s Tower, 19. 
Eddystone, Smeaton’s Tower, 24. 
Eddystone Tower, new, 26. 

Eddystone, Winstanley’s Tower, 17, 
England, light-house administration of, 
195. 


F 

Floating Lights, 186. 

Foster’s gas-lighted buoy, 188. 
Fourteen-Foot Bank Light-House, 144. 
Fowev Rocks Light-House, 157. 

France, light-house administration of, 
192. 

G 

Genoa, Torre del Capo, 15. 

Great Lakes, light-houses on the, 166. 

H 

Halfway Rock Light, 116. 

Harris’s Floating Light, 190, 

Haut Banc du Nord, light at, 56, 

Heaux de Brehat, light-house of, 48. 
Hell Gate Light, 163. 

Holland, light-house administration of, 

202 . 

I 

Inclicape Bell, ballad of the, 32. 

Isle of May Light-House, 177. 

J 

John of Unst’s House, 86. 

L 

Lens apparatus, 172. 

Lighted Buoys, 188. 

Light-House Administration, 191. 
Light-Keeper’s Daughter, ballad, 208. 
Light-ships, 186. 

Longships and Wolf Rock, £7. 

M 

Maplin Sand Light-House, 62. 

Matinicus Rock Light, 113. 

Meloria, Pharos of, 15. 





220 


INDEX. 


Minot’s Ledge, Longfellow’s visit to, 
205. 

Minot’s Ledge Liglit-House, 65, 
Miscellaneous lights, 183. 

Mobile Bay Light-House, 164. 

Moody’s Floating Light, 190. 

Mt. Desert Rock Light, 113. 

N 

Northwest Seal Rock Light-House, 97. 

P 

Petit Manan Light, 112. 

R 

Ravenna, Tower at. 15. 

Red Sectors, 173. 

River lights, 184. 

Rothersand Light Tower, 125. 

S 

Screw-pile light-houses, 163. 

Sea Rock Light-Houses, list of, 85. 


Skeleton iron light-houses, 157. 
Skerryvore Light-House, 41. 

Smalls Light-House, 108, 

Southwest Pass Light-House, 161. 
Spain, light-house administration of, 
200 . 

Spar buoy with electric light, 188. 
Spectacle Reef Light-House, 78. 

T 

Tillamook Rock, keeper’s report of 
storm at, 206. 

Tillamook Light-House, 88. 

Tour d’Ordre, 6. 

Triagoz, light-house of, 105. 

U 

United States, light-house administra¬ 
tion of, 204. 

W 

Wolf Rock Light-House, 59. 



INDEX TO FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 


NO. 

18 . 

12 . 

14 . 
13 . 

2 . 

3 . 
10 . 
11 . 

5 . 

7 . 

6 . 

8 . 
9 . 

4 . 
1 . 

29 . 

30 . 
18 . 
22 . 

27 . 

28 . 
33 . 

15 . 
17 . 

16 . 

23 . 

31 . 
26 . 

24 . 

25 . 

32 . 

19 . 

20 . 
21 . 


Ar-men Light, Section. see paf/e 54 

Bell Rock Light in a Storm.31 

••• ..... 40 

--in Process of Construction.38 

Cordouan, Ancient Tower of.]2 

-, Modern Tower of.14 

Eddystone Light, New, Plans and Construction ... 27 

-, Sectional View.29 

-, Rudyerd’s ..20 

-, Smeaton’s, showing construction.24 

-, “ hints and sketches.24 

-% “ .25 


-, “ in a Storm.26 

-, Winstanley’s.18 

-, View of Old and New Tower.30 

Fourteen-Foot Bank Light-House, Section.149 

-, Elevation.150 

Heaux de Brehat Light-House, Construction.49 

Minot’s Ledge Light-House, Section, Elevation and Plans . 74 

Rothersand Light, Towing Caisson to Site.137 

-—, View of.142 

Sharp’s Island Light-House.152 

Skerryvore Rock, Plan of.42 

-Light, Elevation and Plans.47 

-, Temporary Barrack on.45 

Spectacle Reef Light-House, Section, Elevation, and Plans . . 94 

Stamford Harbor Light.151 

St. George’s Reef Light, Construction of and Plan of Rock . . 101 

Tillamook Rock Light, Construction ...... 84 

-, View of.95 

Whale’s Rock Light.152 

Wolf Rock Light, Plan of Foundation.59 

-, Section and Chart.81 

-, Section and Plans.82 




































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The First Section treats of the Fire-Place as it now is, explaining how incorrectly 
it is constructed, and gives many startling facts, based on careful experiment, to 
show how great a loss of heat (from 80 to 90 per cent.) it occasions. 

The Second Section reviews in an attractive manner, the historical development 
of the subject from its remotest origin in the dim ages of the past to the present 
day. This chapter contains over 179 charming illustrations. 

The Third and last chapter treats of the improvement of the Open Fire-Place, 
and teaches us how it is possible to combine, in one construction, the healthfulness, 
beauty, and charm of the Open Fire-Place, with the efficiency and economy of the 
closed stove or hot-air furnace. 

The designs, even of the most unimportant accessories, are made with the same 
careful study and refined taste as of the more important features. 






\ 

The American Architect 

AND BUILDING XKWS, 

An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Architecture and 
the Building Arts. With six or more fine quarto 
illustrations in each number. It is now entering on 
its fourteenth year of sjiccessful publication, and will 
hereafter be published in two editions only — the Reg¬ 
ular and the Imperial. 

In all the essentials it will be in the coming year 

similar to what it has been during 1888. 

# 

The series of papers 071 “ Builders Hardware 
“Equestrian Monuments," and “ Safe Building," will 
be continued. 

The publication of Mr. T. H. Bartlett's life of Rodin, 
the celebrated French sculptor, zvill begin at once . 

Other papers are in preparation on Architectural 
Shades and Shadozvs, The Colonial Work of Virginia 
and Maryland, Visits to Spanish Cities, Travels in 
Mexico, etc . 

Careful investigation has proved that it costs the 
subscriber less per page than any American journal of 
its class, while it contains vastly more illustrations. 


SUBSCRIPTION PRICES. 

Regular edition, per year, in advance . . . $ 6.00 

Imperial edition, “ “ ... 10.00 

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